Key Developments in the Port and Maritime Sector

TARGET

The significance of the port and maritime sector is increasing in a globalising world. Hence the need for knowledge concerning new and future developments. A lead in knowledge strengthens the competitive level as well in science as in society and business.

On 17 and 18 May 2012, the Special Interest Group 2 (Ports and Maritime) of the World Conference on Transport Research Society (WCTRS), co-chaired by Eddy Van de Voorde (University of Antwerp TPR/TransportNET) and Enrico Musso (University of Genova / TransportNET), will host a two-day international conference under the title "Key developments in the port and maritime sector". It will be held at the Department of Transport and Regional Economics of the University of Antwerp.

The conference is a preparatory event to the 2013 WCTR conference, and is a follow-up of a similar SIG2 conference in 2009. It will present a state of the art of scientific developments which are of use to academicians, business people and policy-makers. It features a rich selection of papers made after the abstract submission process. Selected submissions originate from both academic, business and policy responsibles active in the maritime and port field, and deal with topics that can be considered to be at current a key development in the port and maritime business, either at management, operational or policy level.

This conference is therefore not just a conference, but has a number of specific features:

 

• Finished research and as well "research in process" can be presented and discussed;
• The objective is to make scientists and practisers meet;
• The stress lays on interdisciplinarity, i.e. all disciplines will be treated (engineering, economy, legal, mathematic, ...);
• The subjects are about theory and empiry, secondly derived products;
• New research areas and business opportunities will be dealt with.