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Memorial University is hosting a new initiative that aims
to bring the province's marine technology industry to the
world.
The Marine Technology Alliance Building and Marketing Initiative
– or “Bridges,” as it’s been dubbed
by its creators – is a $2.35-million program that will
help private and public players in the marine technology industry
access new markets and generate wealth in the province.
Twelve St. John’s-based Centres of Excellence in marine
technology serve as the core focus of the initiative (see
sidebar). These groups represent a number of marine-related
fields including simulation, safety training, marine performance,
aquaculture, sustainable fisheries, remote sensing and communications.
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Centres of Excellence for this initiative include the
Centre for Earth Resources Research (CERR), the Ocean
Sciences Centre (OSC), the Ocean Engineering Research
Centre (OERC), the Telemedicine and Educational Technology
Resources Agency (TETRA) and the Centre for Offshore and
Remote Medicine (MEDICOR). The Marine Institute is represented
through the Centre for Marine Simulation (CMS), the Offshore
Safety and Survival Centre (OSSC), the Centre for Sustainable
Aquatic Resources (CSAR) and the Centre for Aquaculture
and Seafood Development (CASD). The other Centres of Excellence
identified for the Bridges program are C-CORE, the National
Research Council’s Institute for Ocean Technology
(IOT) and the College of the North Atlantic’s Engineering
Technology Centre. |
Newfoundland and Labrador –
St. John's in particular – possesses an impressive wealth
of knowledge as well as an incredible collection of high quality
marine technology, in large part owing to these marine-focused
groups. It’s no surprise that Bridges should set its
sights upon establishing the area as an internationally-recognized
“hub” of marine technology expertise. The collaboration
of all participants – government, the Centres of Excellence
and private sector partners – will in turn increase
the commercial viability of Bridges’ membership, provincially,
nationally and internationally.
To this end, Bridges is now accepting proposals for funding
to support marketing and alliance building initiatives. A
call for proposals has just been issued; interested stakeholders
must reply by May 31, 2004. Proposals may be submitted by
private or public organizations, provided the proposal demonstrates
a collaboration with one or more of the identified Centres
of Excellence.
As a precursor to this latest call for proposals, Bridges
offered small amounts of seed-funding last fall, allowing
groups to identify and approach potential partners.
The Bridges office is located at the Marine Institute. A steering
committee comprised of industry, academic and government representatives
manages the initiative. Dr. Chris Loomis, vice-president (research),
represents Memorial on the committee. Bridges is being supported
by the federal and provincial governments and is financed
through the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Development
Fund.
For more information on Bridges, please visit www.bridgespartnerships.ca
or contact Neil Gall, executive director, at neil.gall@mi.mun.ca
or at 758-8364.
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