Day 1 (Sunday - 28 September 2025)

Arrival of participants

Transfer from Batumi Airport to hotels will be provided by Batumi State Maritime Academy.
Welcome Greetings from the NATO Country Project Director and NATO Partner Country Project Director and local organisers.

Accommodation

Accomodation will be provided in Hotel London and Hotel BLOOM

10:00-19:00 - Registration of the NATO Advanced Training Course (ATC) participants.

19:00-21:00 - Dinner in the hotel.

Day 2 (Monday - 29 September 2025)

07:30 - Breakfast and transfer to the Sheraton Hotel Batumi

08:30 - Registration of ATC participants and officials

09:00 - Opening session and welcome greetings from the ATC Organizers, officials and delegations: Prof. Pasquale Daponte, Prof. Avtandil Gegenava, NATO Representatives, local Authorities

Block 1: General aspects of Navigation; Technologies, Data Protection, Safety and Security, legal and commercial aspects

09:30 - Luigi Sinapi, Italian Navy, IHO Director, Italy “The new hydrographic universal data model S-100: The innovative approach to E-Navigation”

10:30 - Coffee break with networking and discussion

11:00 - Givi Tsitskishvili, BSMA, Georgia “Safety and security of navigation, international ship and port facility security”

12:00 - Zdenek Dvorak, University of Zilina, Faculty of Security Engineering, Slovak Republic “Robust MASS navigation” (by remote)

12:30 - Lunch in the Sheraton Batumi Hotel

14:00 - Andrej Dávid, University of Žilina, Faculty of Operation and Economics of Transport and Communications, Department of Water Transport, Slovakia “New job opportunities” (by remote)

14:30 - Alan Oliveira de Sá, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal “Cybersecurity simulation environment for drones in naval applications” (by remote)

15:30-16:30 - Coffee break with Round Table and discussions on the topics of Block 1

Block 2: Remote and Autonomous Navigation of a MASS (Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships)

16:30 - Luca De Vito, University of Sannio, Department of Engineering, Italy “Sensors for MASS navigation”

17:30-18:00 - Maciej Gucma, MUS, Poland “Remote MASS monitoring”

19:00 - Dinner in the Hotel

Day 3 (Tuesday - 30 September 2025)

07:30 - Breakfast and transfer to Sheraton Batumi Hotel

08:30 - Solmaz Murat Selçuk, Piri Reis University, Maritime Faculty, Türkiye “Collision liability for autonomous vessels”

09:30 - Henry Vallius, Geological Survey of Finland (GTK), Finland “Marine observation and data web services for the maritime sector”

10:30 - Coffee break with networking and discussion

11:00 - Giovanni Indiveri, ISME Director, University of Genova (Italy), “Marine robotics technologies: an introduction to models, navigation, guidance, control and applications”

The talk aims at providing an introduction on marine robotics: different robot types (ROVs, AUVs, gliders, ASVs, crawlers, manipulators, etc) will be briefly described and illustrated from the perspective of control engineering. The mathematical modeling of marine robots will be introduced highlighting its role in the design of navigation, guidance and control solutions. The typical control architecture of a marine robot consists of a number of interconnected functional subsystems, with some of them feeding inputs to the vehicle/robot actuators, while others read outputs from specific hardware components. The major functional sub-systems are those responsible for mission control, communications, navigation, guidance and control. The structure and functioning of this architecture will be addressed. Specific applications of single and multi vehicle systems will be illustrated building on the experience of ISME, the Italian interuniversity research center on Integrated Systems for the Marine Environment.

12:00 - Volodymyr Blintsov, Yuriy Zhukov, Anatolii Nadtochyy, Admiral Makarov National Shipbuilding University, Ukraine “Humanitarian demining of shallow waters of Ukraine: technologies and robotic support”

13:00 - Lunch Sheraton Batumi Hotel

14:30 - Felix Petermann, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norwey “Potential human-factors issues in monitoring and operating MASS”

15:30 - Coffee break with Round Table and discussions on the topics of Block 2

Block 3: New trends in manned and unmanned Navigation Systems

16:30-17:00 -Pelin Bolat, Istanbul Technical University – Maritime Faculty, Turkey “What is the value of MASS for logistics and transportation?”

19:00 - Dinner in the Hotel

Day 4 (Wednesday – 1 October 2025)

07:30 - Breakfast and transfer

08:30 - Levent Kirval, Istanbul Technical University – Maritime Faculty, Turkey “Maritime economy”

09:30 - Peter Vidmar, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Maritime Studies and Transport, Slovenia “Integration of MASS operations in the current navigation scenario”

10:30 - Coffee break

11:00 - Marko Perkovič, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Maritime Studies and a Transport, Slovenia “Smart Ports and Maritime Simulators”

12:00 - Roberto Trevisani, GEM ELETTRONICA Srl Italy “Integrated sensor systems in MASS monitoring”

13:00 - Lunch Sheraton Batumi Hotel

14:30 - Galya Marinova, Technical University of Sofia, Department of Technology and Management of Communication Systems, Bulgaria “Resilience of telecommunication systems”

15:30 - Coffee break with networking and discussion

16:00 - Aïssa Benazzouz and Mohamed Briouig, Higher Institute for Maritime Studies (ISEM), Morocco “Drone surveillance and scanning data for tracking accidental oil spills in the Strait of Gibraltar”(by remote)

17:00 - Manana Kirtadze, Ministry of Economy, LEPL, State Hydrographic Service of Georgia “Autonomous operations in Hydrographic Surveys in Georgian waters”

17:30 - Open space for meeting the Speakers and create networking.

19:00 - Dinner in the Hotel

Day 5 (Thursday – 2 October 2025)

07:30 - Breakfast and transfer

Block 3: New trends in manned and unmanned Navigation Systems

08:30 - Salvatore Gaglione, University of Naples Parthenope, Department of Science and Technology, Italy “Navigation technologies: Systems (GNSS, DR), sensors and techniques”

09:30 - Franc Dimc, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Maritime Studies and Transport, Slovenia “Limitations to autonomy as we see them today”

10:30 - Coffee break

11:30 - Roberta Ivaldi, Italian Hydrographic Institute, Italian Navy, Italy “Ocean Decade Initiatives: Measuring the Oceans”

12:00 - Giorgio Budillon, University of Naples Parthenope, Italy “Meteorology and oceanography”

12:30 - Lunch Sheraton Batumi Hotel

13:30 - Avtandil Gegenava, Batumi State Maritime Academy “Technical visit to navigation laboratories with practical activities by means of available navigation simulators” (Coffee break served during practical activities in laboratory)

19:00 - Gala Dinner - Restaurant of Georgian Cuisine and Georgian cultural show

Day 6 (Friday – 3 October 2025)

07:30 - Breakfast and transfer to the Sheraton Batumi Hotel

Block 4: Human and Social impact of Remote and Autonomous Navigation

08:30 - Avtandil Gegenava, Batumi State Maritime Academy “Technical visit on training vessel “Cadet”(Coffee break served on board)

13:30 - Lunch in the Sheraton Batumi Hotel

14:30 - Iryna Sitak, National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute”, Ukraine “The role of maritime transport in ensuring energy security”

15:00 - Natalia Shyriaieva, National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute” “Green seas: Carbon-neutral solutions for maritime navigation”

15:30 - Taufik Akbar Sitompul, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norwey “Shore Control Lab: an infrastructure to train seafarers and test new technologies for monitoring and operating MASS”

16:00 - Coffee break

16:30 - Round Table and Closing Ceremony chaired by Pasquale Daponte, University of Sannio, Italy “Discussion and concluding remarks concerning the ATC”

19:00 - Dinner in the Hotel

Day 7 (Saturday – 4 October 2025)

Departure of the ATC NATO participants

Transfer to Batumi Airport will be provided by Batumi State Maritime Academy