News

As part of SeaFest 2017, which opens this weekend in Galway, NUI Galway will host several events to celebrate and highlight the importance of business development and research in the marine industry.

A two-day Marine Trade Show will take place this week 29-30 June, in a purpose-built marquee on the grounds of NUI Galway, to coincide with the Digital Ocean Conference and Our Ocean Wealth Summit as part of SeaFest 2017. The Marine Trade Show will showcase some of the highly innovative products and services emerging from companies across all sectors of the marine economy.

Over 60 organisations will display their products and services in the Trade Show marquee on the College Lawn and in the Bailey Allen Hall at NUI Galway where exhibitors will showcase their cutting-edge research and products that contribute to the marine industry.

Participating industry exhibitors include; Microsoft Ireland, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, Circular Ocean, The Whitaker Institute, NUI Galway, Planet Ocean, Marine Institute – Ireland’s Digital Ocean, Diatec, InnaLabs, JFC Marine, RealSim Marine, Éire Composites Teoranta, Wood Group Kenny, Planet Ocean, Marine Institute – Ireland’s Digital Ocean and many more.

On Friday, 30 June the Bailey Allen Hall at NUI Galway will host ‘Our Ocean Wealth Summit’. Now in its fourth year, the Summit forms a key part of the Government’s integrated plan for Ireland’s marine sector, Harnessing Our Ocean Wealth, and will bring together world renowned speakers, industry experts, business development agencies and the Irish business and marine research community for focused discussions on this year’s theme of ‘Rethinking Boundaries and Innovation for a Sustainable Marine Economy’. The Summit is sponsored by PwC Ireland.

Speakers include Tom Kelley of award-winning global design and development firm, IDEO, who will inspire business leaders to engage in creative thinking and challenge perspectives to encourage new ideas and approaches on how Ireland can continue to transform its marine industry. Tom Kelley will be joined by a host of national and international thought leaders and industry experts including Dan O’Brien, Chief Economist of the Institute of International and European Affairs; Miguel Marques, Partner and Economist of the Sea, PwC Portugal; Terry Garcia, former VP National Geographic and CEO of Exploration Ventures; Andrew McDowell, VP, European Investment Bank; Wendy-Watson Wright, CEO of Ocean Frontier Institute Canada, and many more.

The Digital Ocean – Ireland’s Marine Engineering and Technology Conference, will also be held as part of SeaFest 2017 and will take place on Thursday, 29 June. This event will build on the success of the inaugural Digital Ocean Conference in 2016 and will highlight how technology companies are driving new forms of innovation in Ireland’s blue economy. Ireland is internationally recognised as a leading hub for marine technology innovation due to its significant marine resource, its leading technology expertise and its world-class test-bed infrastructures. The conference will feature a selection of international marine technology companies; innovative Irish Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs); and Ireland's world-class technology and research centres. The programme will focus on specific opportunities for technology innovations to drive the global blue economy.

A unique exhibition on Roald Amundsen’s expedition to the South Pole, Cold Recall – Roald Amundsen’s Reflections from the South Pole will continue to run in the main foyer of the O’Donoghue Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance. The exhibition is based on images from the original lantern slides that Norwegian Polar Explorer Roald Amundsen used in public lectures about his expeditions through the Northwest Passage and to the South Pole.

Amundsen was the first in the world to navigate the Northwest Passage and the first to reach the South Pole on 14 December 1911. Norwegian Polar history is closely connected to defining Norway as an independent state in 1905, and to Norway’s position as a state closely connected to the oceans and to polar regions. The exhibition runs until 8 July 2017.

University President, Dr Jim Browne said: “NUI is delighted to partner with the Marine Institute in bringing SeaFest to Galway. We’re particularly pleased to be able to host the important marine conferences - Our Ocean Wealth Summit and Digital Ocean - here on our campus. These events, along with the Trade Show, bring together leading policy-makers, industry leaders, entrepreneurs and academics to discuss the opportunities which Ireland’s marine economy offers.”

President Browne, added: “NUI Galway is an international research leader in this field through the work of the Ryan Institute for Environment Energy and Marine research and the Whitaker Institute, where researchers at the Institute’s Socio-Economic Marine Research Unit (SEMRU) analyse the economic importance of the marine environment for a range of national and international bodies. In addition to the two conferences, we’re especially pleased to host the Framm Museum’s month-long exhibition Cold Recall – Roald Amundsen’s Reflections from the South Pole in partnership with the Norwegian Embassy and the Marine Institute. I look forward to welcoming visitors to NUI Galway to enjoy the range of wonderful events on campus associated with SeaFest and I congratulate the Marine Institute on their efforts in bringing such a wonderful event to Galway this year.”

SeaFest will take place from 30 June to 2 July with events for all the family throughout Galway Harbour.

For full details about Our Ocean Wealth Summit, visit: https://www.ouroceanwealth.ie/ and Digital Ocean Conference, visit: https://www.smartocean.ie/digital-ocean .

For full event details visit www.seafest.ie, follow @Seafest_ie, SeaFest 2017 on Facebook or download the SeaFest App for free.

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