Marinette Marine Hosts University of Wisconsin Chancellor

[By: Fincantieri]

Officials at Fincantieri Marinette Marine hosted University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin and members of her team May 2, in the bustling Marinette shipyard 50 miles north of Green Bay. 

The purpose of the visit was to update the chancellor on the successful international internship program Fincantieri started last year with engineering students at University of Wisconsin – Madison.  

FMM’s leader, Jan Allman, was joined by Fincantieri Marine Group CEO, Marco Galbiati, and together they led the chancellor and key university officials through the newly renovated shipyard. They also gave Mnookin an overview of the many naval programs being supported by Fincantieri in Northeast Wisconsin. FMM is currently building two different types of ships for the U.S. Navy, and four additional vessels for a foreign allied navy.  

“Partnerships like this can be ‘eye-opening’ for students, many of whom may not be familiar with the maritime industry,” said Allman. “We have tremendous career opportunities for engineers of all specialties right here in Wisconsin, where they can do critically important work for our national defense or in the commercial shipbuilding and repair sector.”  

Fincantieri has increased its internship programs and research efforts over the previous two years in an effort to engage top tier engineering programs, according to Dr. Gabriele Librandi, Fincantieri Marine Group’s director of research and innovation in the United States. Librandi has created similar research projects and relationships with the University of Michigan and Virginia Tech for Fincantieri. Librandi worked with the UW-Madison’s International Academic Programs office to help engineering students land study- and work-abroad internships. 

“It was inspiring to see firsthand the scale and sophistication of the work being done at Fincantieri Marinette Marine,” said UW–Madison Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin. “This partnership creates meaningful opportunities for our students to apply their engineering skills in real-world, high-impact settings right here in Wisconsin and around the world. It’s a powerful example of how collaboration between industry and the university can help drive innovation, grow talent, and strengthen our state’s workforce.” 

This year Fincantieri is sending four Badger students to Italy for two months where they will work with one of the world’s largest and most innovative maritime companies operating in the cruise, naval and offshore sectors. Once in Italy, the students will attend an abbreviated naval engineering course at the University of Trieste and then work alongside Fincantieri engineers in Trieste for the summer. 

Fincantieri Marine Group CEO Marco Galbiati added, “Being a globally recognized maritime leader, we understand that the demand for talent, especially engineers, is increasingly competitive.” Galbiati added that attracting and retaining top talent is important to the company’s sustainability strategy. “I am sure that these students are going to enjoy working with the brightest minds in the business, and they will get an appreciation for the pride that comes with being a part of the Fincantieri team, even if for only the summer.”