University of Maine students will soon be able to gather around lab-scale ocean structures, attach sensors, run tests and watch real-time data stream into a digital dashboard. 

On their laptops, they’ll build virtual replicas — digital twins — that mirror how those structures behave in wind and waves. Adjust a setting on the screen, and the virtual system responds instantly, predicting how the real structure would react in the ocean.

“Digital twins are a rapidly emerging technology,” said project lead Amrit Verma. “By 2030, digital twins are expected to expand across multiple industries. Consequently, the global digital twin market is witnessing considerable growth. As a result, the need for digital twins is skyrocketing, with digital twins recognized as a new and featured career path in maritime that did not exist a decade ago.”

This hands-on work is at the heart of a new internship program at UMaine, designed to prepare students for careers in Maine’s growing blue economy — industries that sustainably use ocean and coastal resources to nourish communities and foster innovation. Sensors on physical systems will enable real-time data collection and processing within digital simulations, allowing students to test complex marine scenarios safely and accurately.

The project will support 48 undergraduate and graduate students through eight-week summer and year-round internships over the next three years. These experiences will center on digital twin technology, in which participants use this data-driven, virtual modeling approach to support smarter decision-making. These systems often integrate artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning tools to analyze, predict and optimize system performance, offering students valuable exposure to technologies shaping the future of ocean industries.

“This project is about providing students with hands-on learning experiences,” said Verma,  assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the Maine College of Engineering and Computing. “Our main focus is on first- and second-year undergraduate students, as well as early-stage graduate students who are still at the beginning of their academic journey. We want to train them to build digital twins so that this experience will inspire them to build their careers around the blue economy.”

Applications are open for year-round internships starting in January and summer internships starting in June.

One unique aspect of this project is that the students will gain experience working directly with UMaine’s ocean test beds and in faculty labs, building and refining digital twins that can be used to test scenarios safely and accurately before they happen in the real world. For instance, the project offers access to an on-site test bed devised by Verma that includes a 1:70 lab-scaled model for building digital twins based on generative AI. Students will use this testbed to both test and refine digital twins, providing practice experience that directly prepares them for workforce readiness in the rapidly evolving blue economy sector.

Students will also be able to work on live projects with various employers, such as Kelson Marine, Vertical Bay and the National Renewable Energy Lab, in addition to faculty labs at Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Marine Sciences, and the Advanced Structures and Composite Centers that are leading digital research at UMaine.

“Students will learn about ocean industries and ocean structures, including also learning how to scale large ocean structures into lab-scale environments and build and test digital twins of them,” Verma said. “They’ll gain experience in instrumentation, AI and machine learning applications, experimental design, manufacturing, sensor fusion, calibration and data acquisition.”

The program aims to provide clear and structured career pathways for students. Participants will earn micro-credentials in digital research, which they can use to demonstrate and certify their skills to potential employers.

“The outcomes of this project will lead to a strong talent pipeline of students in the digital twin sector,” Verma said. “You have workforce readiness skills, career awareness, access to digital experience, enhanced program experience and curriculum for training students.”

Maine and New England are considered critical hubs for the blue economy. This project will prepare students to enter the workforce in fields such as offshore aquaculture, autonomous shipping and other sectors that are likely to help strengthen the nation’s economic independence and security. By providing students with early, practice exposure to digital twin systems, UMaine is closing gaps in the U.S. workforce and bolster the region’s maritime and blue economy industries.

The project is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies (ExLENT) program.

About the University of Maine: As Maine’s only public research university and a Carnegie R1 top-tier research institution, the University of Maine advances learning and discovery through excellence and innovation. Founded in 1865 in Orono, UMaine is the state’s land, sea and space grant university with a regional campus at the University of Maine at Machias. Our students come from all over the world and work with faculty conducting fieldwork around the globe — from the North Atlantic to the Antarctic. Located on Marsh Island in the homeland of the Penobscot Nation with UMaine Machias located in the homeland of the Passamaquoddy Nation, UMaine’s statewide mission is to foster an environment that creates tomorrow’s leaders. As the state’s flagship institution, UMaine offers nearly 200 degree programs through which students can earn bachelor’s, master’s, professional master’s and doctoral degrees as well as graduate certificates. For more information about UMaine and UMaine Machias, visit umaine.edu/about/quick-facts/ and machias.edu/about-umm/umm-facts/.