After a recruitment period during the winter, five postdocs have become employed in the Lighthouse postdoctoral program. When KTH had its annual Marine Technology Days, the postdocs also gathered for the first time.

Lighthouse two-year long postdoc programme is implemented in collaboration with Chalmers University of Technology, the Royal Institute of Technology KTH, Linnaeus University and Gothenburg University. The five postdoctors are divided into four different universities. And ecen if they all have their own research field, they will meet now and then to share and spread knowledge.

- It feels great that the program is running and we have succeeded in attracting talented researchers within key areas for the shipping industry, says Lighthouse director Åsa Burman.

Strengthen research and collaboration
The Lighthouse post doc programme has attracted postdoctors from China, Australia, Greece, Spain and Sweden and the research conducted within the group covers large parts of the maritime sector. From, among other things, focus on leadership and the seafarers role in future autonomous shipping to environmental policy instruments and incentives for ports.

- Our objective with the postdoctoral programme is to strengthen the research environments at the different universities, to strengthen research in our prioritised areas and to increase collaboration with industry and government through postdoctoral projects," says Åsa Burman.

The postdoctors and their research areas are:

• Ruihua Lu - Wind assisted propulsion of merchant vessels (Chalmers)
• Miachel Tanko - Waterborne Urban Mobility (KTH)
• Carl Sandberg - Maritime science with emphasis on leadership and sustainable working life in shipping (Linnaeus University)
• Anastasia Christodoulou - Business administration / logistics with a focus on the demand aspects of RoRo shipping (Gothenburg University, School of Business, Economics and Law)
• Marta Gonzalez-Aregall - Environmental control charges and incentive structures for ports (Gothenburg University, School of Business, Economics and Law)

Further focus through research
In the framework of the postdoctoral program, Lighthouse also co-finances two researchers, Sofia Werner at SSPA and Robert Rylander at RISE Viktoria.

- Within two important areas, through our Lighthouse pre studies, we have created projects with relatively broad participation from industry and the public sector. In order to to further focus on the issues, we co-finance two researchers. Sofia focuses on improved performance forecasts and operational optimization of ships while Roberts focus is autonomy for increased safety, Åsa Burman says.

Lighthouse postdoctoral programme is financed by Vinnova, Sweden´s innovation agency, with funds to Lighthouse as a Swedish maritime competence centre.