FONDAZIONE ISTITUTO TECNICO SUPERIORE MOBILITA SOSTENIBILE NEI SETTORITRASPORTI MARITTIMI E DELLA PESCA-ACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA MARINA MERC

Their core work

FAIMM is an Italian Foundation combining a Higher Technical Institute (ITS) for sustainable mobility in maritime transport with the Italian Academy of the Merchant Marine, based in Genova — Italy's primary commercial port city. Their core mission is vocational and professional training for merchant marine and maritime transport personnel, placing them at the intersection of maritime operations and applied education. In H2020 research, they contribute practitioner-level maritime domain knowledge to security-focused projects, bringing operational insight that purely academic partners cannot provide. They participated in projects targeting both broad maritime risk management and, more recently, specialized cyber preparedness for port logistics — bridging the gap between security research and real-world maritime operations.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first H2020 project (MITIGATE, 2015–2018), FAIMM worked on broad maritime risk assessment — a multi-dimensional framework for identifying and managing operational risks across maritime systems, with no recorded keyword specialisation suggesting a generalist security support role. By their second project (Cyber-MAR, 2019–2023), the focus had sharpened considerably into cyber-specific preparedness, with explicit keywords around cyber ranges, maritime cybersecurity, and logistics value chain threats. The trajectory is clear: from generic risk management participation toward specialist cyber training and awareness, likely driven by the growing regulatory and operational urgency of cyber threats in EU port infrastructure.

FAIMM is moving toward simulation-based cyber training (cyber ranges) for maritime professionals, positioning them as a natural partner for any future project that needs to translate cybersecurity research into operational training programmes for port and shipping sector workers.

How they like to work

FAIMM has never held a coordinator role across either H2020 project — they join as participants, contributing domain expertise rather than driving project direction. With 25 unique partners across just 2 projects, they work inside medium-to-large international consortia, suggesting they are sought as a specialist node for maritime practitioner knowledge. This profile suits a partner who provides real-world operational grounding and access to professional training networks, without the overhead of project management responsibilities.

FAIMM has built connections with 25 unique consortium partners across 10 countries through just 2 projects — an unusually broad network for such limited participation, indicating they join well-connected, multi-partner consortia. Their Genova base places them within one of Europe's most active maritime clusters, likely providing natural access to port operators, shipping companies, and Italian maritime authorities.

What sets them apart

FAIMM occupies a rare niche: a maritime professional education institution with active EU research participation in cybersecurity — most maritime academies do not engage at this level. For a security research consortium, they offer something concrete that universities cannot easily replicate: direct access to merchant marine trainees and maritime operations professionals as both study subjects and end-users of any developed tools or protocols. Their Genova location also provides proximity to Italy's busiest port ecosystem, which is a practical asset for any project requiring real-world maritime testing or demonstration environments.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Cyber-MAR
  FAIMM's largest and most recent project (EUR 215,500, 2019–2023) is their most thematically aligned — it directly connects maritime cyber preparedness with cyber range training, matching FAIMM's educational mission and producing their only recorded keyword profile.
• MITIGATE
  Their first H2020 project (2015–2018) established FAIMM's presence in EU maritime security research, addressing the broader risk management layer before the field narrowed to cyber-specific threats.