Synergy Session: Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Diversification During Times of Crisis: Challenges and Opportunities for Newfoundland and Labrador
Business Boardroom, BN4000, St. John's Campus, Memorial University
12-1:30 pm, Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Innovation and entrepreneurship are key to creating resilient, sustainable economies. This is particularly true of economies like St. John’s which are dependent on the resource industry with its boom and bust cycles. Some regions like Stavanger, Houston, and Aberdeen have been able to diversify their economies away from complete dependence on the oil and gas industry to other sectors such as health care, life science, and digital technology. Drawing on research conducted on technology entrepreneurs in St. John’s and Aberdeen over the past year, this talk will explore the challenges and opportunities facing entrepreneurs in St. John’s looking to enter global markets and develop innovative new products.
Ben Spigel is a Chancellor’s Fellow and Assistant Professor at the University of Edinburgh Business School. He received his PhD in Economic Geography in 2013 from the University of Toronto where he studied entrepreneurial innovation in Calgary, Waterloo, and Ottawa. His research focuses on early stage technology entrepreneurship and the role of regional cultural outlooks, institutions, and policies in creating supportive entrepreneurial environments. He is currently investigating the structure of entrepreneurship in offshore oil regions such as Aberdeen and St. John’s as well as the formation and transformation of entrepreneurial ecosystems in Canada and the UK.
Join in person or via webinar. Registration is free but required.