Lighthearted, popular-science oriented, and inspiring. In SMTF’s podcast NextWave, the world of marine technology becomes both close and accessible – with the goal of sparking young people’s interest in the industry. The first two episodes are now available on Spotify.

In NextWave, Dusan Petrovic and Linnéa Hemmarö from SMTF (Swedish Marine Technology Forum) meet experts, companies, and educational organisations to talk about the industry, the future, and the possibilities within marine technology. A total of ten 20–30-minute episodes are planned, three of which have already been recorded. The first two were released this week in connection with the Knowledge & Future fair in Gothenburg.

Why a podcast?
“When I was studying, I often thought it would be nice to be able to listen to a podcast instead of reading everything. I brought that thought with me to RISE and shared the idea with Linnea. We’re both still relatively young, and many young people listen to podcasts. That makes it an easy and effective way for us and our member companies to reach out,” says Dusan Petrovic.

Who do you want to reach?
“You don’t necessarily need an academic background. There are many paths into the maritime sector. None of the people we’ve interviewed so far have a marine-technology background; rather, they stumbled into the industry later in their careers.”

What topics do you cover in the podcast?
“We want to show the breadth of the marine technology industry and highlight different types of companies – from sea rescue to the use of satellites in shipping. You can work with many different things. Just because you studied computer engineering doesn’t mean you have to sit and program circuit boards – you can also work with maritime sustainability.”

In the two episodes released so far, you have interviewed the CEO of Cetasol, which makes vessels smarter, and the CEO of Marlink, which works to keep the world’s ships connected.
What will the next episode be about?
“It will be released in two weeks and is an interview with Anders Schening, CEO of Lifefinder. He talks about a small device that can be worn like a watch on your arm. It shows where everyone on board is and quickly warns of dangers such as gas leaks, lack of oxygen, or a person overboard. It was a very exciting episode to record. You learn a lot from interviewing people who have developed ideas and companies,” says Dusan Petrovic.

The podcast NextWave is available on Spotify.