International Transport Lab’s recent study, “Modeling and Optimizing the Global Hydrogen Supply Chain with STGNN,” was presented at the 72th JSCE Annual Meeting.

Master student Mr. Fumiya Nohara received the Best Paper Award at the 2025 International Association of Maritime Universities conference, held in Chennai from October 13 to 18. He was recognized for his paper titled “Promoting Sustainability through Hydrogen Infrastructure: Addressing Logistical Challenges and Energy Transition“.

International Transport Lab’s recent research projects resulted in a publication titled “Toward greener logistics: uncovering key enablers of the physical internet using AI-powered theme analysis” in Cleaner Logistics and Supply Chain. The study identified eight critical domains — including smart infrastructure, energy systems, and cybersecurity — mapped to SDGs 9, 11, and 13. The findings emphasize the need for interoperability, digital twins, renewable energy, and secure data to enable sustainable logistics transformation.

Massachusetts Maritime Academy International Experience at Kobe University

A group of eleven students and two faculty members from the International Maritime Business Course at Massachusetts Maritime Academy came to Kobe University’s Faculty of Ocean Science and Technology for a three-week intensive study abroad program from June 19th to July 9th, 2025. This program centers on student exchange activities between Kobe University and Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA), and was initiated in May, 2024. The program was designed to immerse the MMA students in a wide variety of educational, experiential learning, and cultural immersion activities aimed to enrich their world perspectives while also providing the host students with valuable cross cultural experiences. The MMA students received customized academic lectures on maritime topics provided by 14 different faculty members and visiting scholars, visited key local maritime industry sites including Osaka Container Terminal and the Port of Kobe, took a cruise on Kobe University’s training vessel Kaijin Maru, made cultural excursions to Kyoto and Himeji, and joined in a beach cleanup activity in Nishinomiya. The MMA students also participated in several general English and maritime English classes with Kobe University students and were able to partake in communicative activities, presentations, and discussions that were meaningful and memorable for both groups of students. The second year of this program was a great success, as indicated by the collection of highly favorable feedback data from both Kobe University and MMA students. Kobe University looks forward to welcoming back a new group of MMA students in 2026, and also to a reciprocal visit to MMA by Kobe University students in 2027.

International Maritime and Ocean Policy Science Research Department Seminar

The International Maritime and Ocean Policy Science Research Department is pleased to announce its 2025 Seminar, which will focus on issues related to international maritime and ocean policies associated with maritime transport, industry, research, education, and training. This department promotes research that contributes to maritime and ocean policies, such as building efficient, sustainable, and resilient supply chains through research on next-generation logistics networks based on data science, and ocean policies that are in line with national interests from the perspective of international law in the context of trends in marine living resources, marine non-living resources, and underwater cultural heritage. We also work to revitalize international collaborative research through scientific research on future international maritime education, such as collaboration with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU), and develop international exchange in comprehensive research. This year’s seminar will include four presentations that highlight some of the efforts being made to achieve these goals and place a spotlight on collaborative efforts of the department.

Theme:
International Maritime and Ocean Policy Science, Research, and Education

Program:
15:10 ~ 15:15 – Opening and introductions delivered by Matthew Rooks
15:15 ~ 15:35 – Social Media and Logistics: Uncovering Challenges and Solutions Through YouTube Data: Enna Hirata
15:35 ~ 15:55 – What Is the Essence of the Deep Seabed Regime? In terms of International Law of the Sea: Tatsuya Nakada, Kobe University
15:55 ~ 16:15 – Bridging the Gap — Seafarers and Naval Architects Working Together for Ship Performance: Marko Katalinic, Split University
16:15 ~ 16:35 – Cultivating Affective Competencies in Future Global Maritime Professionals through Study Away
Programs: Paul Szwed, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Matthew Rooks, Kobe University
16:35 ~ 16:45 – Q & A, Discussion, and closing remarks from Matthew Rooks

Mr. Hisatoshi Naganawa from International Transport Lab was awarded the Japan Logistics Society Young Researcher Award for his research on optimizing logistics hubs and routes in a Physical Internet environment.

Open seminar on “Hyperconnected City Logistics” by Prof. Russell Thompson from the University of Melbourne was held. In the seminar, Prof. Russell will present recent research projects on parcel lockers, last-mile delivery, crowdsourced delivery and multimodal transport.

2024 International Maritime and Ocean Policy Science Research Department Seminar

The International Maritime and Ocean Policy Science Research Department is pleased to announce its 2024 Seminar, which will focus on international issues related to international maritime and ocean policies associated with maritime transport, industry, research, education, and training. This department promotes research that contributes to maritime and ocean policies, such as building efficient, sustainable, and resilient supply chains through research on next-generation logistics networks based on data science, and ocean policies that are in line with national interests from the perspective of international law in the context of trends in marine living resources, marine non-living resources, and underwater cultural heritage. We also work to revitalize international collaborative research through scientific research on future international maritime education, such as collaboration with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU), and develop international exchange in comprehensive research. This year’s seminar will include three presentations that highlight some of the efforts being made to achieve these goals.

Theme:
International Maritime and Ocean Policy Science, Research, and Education

Program:
10:40 ~ 10:45 – Opening and introductions delivered by Department Head Matthew Rooks
10:45 ~ 11:05 – Physical Internet for Sustainable Transport and Logistics: Enna Hirata
11:05 ~ 11:25 – An Analysis of the Nexus among the Three Resources in the Law of the Sea: Tatsuya Nakada
11:25 ~ 11:45 – Planning, Administering, and Analyzing a Short-Term Maritime Study Program: Matthew Rooks
11:45 ~ 12:10 – Q & A, Discussion, and closing remarks from Matthew Rooks