Future Careers in Foiling
Where education, research and industry meet
4 October 2026, 11:00
LOUNGE BANCHINA F – GENOA INTERNATIONAL BOAT SHOW
The sector is moving. What about its workforce?
Every foil on the water began as a decision made by someone trained to make it.
As foiling spreads from racing yachts to watersports, components and research, the question shifts from what the technology can do to who will design, build and test it. On 4 October, The Foiling Organization takes that question to two universities that have agreed to work on it with us, and to the industry that will hire their graduates.
Composites: where a foil takes shape
How a laminate is laid up decides how a foil behaves under load. That is the expertise the University of Naples Federico II brings, through a College of Engineering with a strong tradition in composite materials.
Under the collaboration agreement with TFO, joint research and applied activities begin during the 38th America’s Cup, to support the transfer of that expertise. An advanced training course will put industry and academia in the same room, students included.
University of Naples Federico II, School of Engineering and Basic Sciences.
Academic lead: Professor Valentina Lopresto.
Research with a line to the industry
Industrial research asks different questions from product development, and foiling needs both. The Memorandum of Understanding between TFO and the Department of Industrial Engineering gives Alma Mater Studiorum a larger role in foiling technology research, opens a channel to the international industry and creates new educational opportunities for students and doctoral researchers.
The agreement will be signed at the Boat Show on Sunday 4 October.
Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Department of Industrial Engineering.
With Professor Ignazio Maria Viola.
Bring the other side of the table
Press and industry professionals are invited to join the two universities and to say what they need: which skills are hard to find, what a graduate should be able to do on day one, what training they would want to be part of. Places are limited, so please confirm in advance with your first name, surname, media outlet or organisation, and the session you wish to attend.
Find us at the show
The Foiling Organization | Stand PS01 | Boating Discovery | Pavilion S