Some say that the 21st century is the ocean century. Since civilization, we have explored so much into space, but not much of our oceans have been explored. Despite having travelled to Mars and beyond, diving beyond 10,000 m into our oceans has proven to be difficult for mankind. Land resources will soon be depleted, which leaves us no choice but to look towards the vast resources beneath our deep water. This has become a common goal of interest for mankind, which will naturally result in partnerships.

Partnerships between universities transcend national boundaries through a universal language of fundamental scientific research. Knowledge serves as one of the greatest drivers behind the advancement of human civilization, which can be better achieved through international partnerships among knowledge institutions.

As mentioned, having a common goal and topic of interest is important towards fostering international research partnerships. Only partners with a similar vision and mindset will come together, especially when everyone acknowledges that deep water challenges are not merely national issues, but common one faced by mankind. The ability to communicate and address one another, interests within a research partnership (such as intellectual property rights) will facilitate a smooth and successful collaboration.

With Harbin Engineering University (China) as the major founder and support from Dalian University of Technology (China), the University of Strathclyde (Great Britain), State Marine Technical University of St. Petersburg (Russia), Bureau Veritas (France), Ecole Centrale Nantes (France), and China Classification Society (China), ICNAME was registered as a non-governmental organization devoted to the exchanges of research to share their achievements in naval architecture, ocean and marine engineering and promotion of extensive cooperation as well as the development of science and technology.

ICNAME is organized exclusively for international cooperation in naval architecture, ocean and marine engineering in the form of promoting mutual cooperation, exploration and exchanges, resource and knowledge sharing and collaborative development among members, with a hope to advance the innovation and development of technologies in naval architecture, ocean and marine engineering as well as the application and translation of research achievements to the marine industry.

ICNAME (International Innovation & Cooperation of Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering association) is one such platform of innovation and collaboration that will bring like-minded partnerships to collectively explore R&D. Not only do we achieve global research excellence, we also help to optimise global research resources to minimise overlaps in the global research arena.