The naval engineering group and the Saudi university will support young researchers engaged in maritime security and new technologies applied to navigation
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), a Saudi Arabian research university, and the Italian naval engineering group Fincantieri, through the Fincantieri Foundation, have jointly decided to establish a scholarship dedicated to supporting young researchers in the fields of maritime security, cyber-resilience, and new technologies applied to navigation.
The initiative follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding last January and reflects the shared commitment of both organizations to promoting excellence in training and technology transfer, in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. The scholarship will allow talented young researchers to develop innovative solutions to counter new threats to navigation, such as recent cases of AIS and GPS spoofing, which can alter a ship’s position and compromise the safety of maritime routes.
The program will focus on three strategic areas: advanced authentication of AIS signals to prevent manipulation; opportunistic detection of GPS spoofing through intelligent analysis of satellite data; and star-based position verification, enhanced by machine learning algorithms.
The goal is to develop an operational software platform integrable into onboard digital systems, strengthening collaboration between university and industry and contributing to the growth of the Fincantieri Digital Ecosystem (FDE).
