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| October 20-22, 2009 | Victoria, British Columbia | Canada |
About Ocean Innovation
Ocean Innovation
Ocean Innovation now in its 7th year , has established itself as one of the prime Canadian conferences for the ocean and marine sector. An initiative by the Marine Institute at Memorial University in St. John's, Newfoundland, the conference attracts presenters and delegates from across Canada and from around the world. The Ocean Innovation Conference and Exhibition strives to introduce relevant and often provocative topics centered on the latest innovations in the areas of maritime safety, efficiency of operations and sustainable ocean management.
The History
Ocean Innovation is an annual gathering of the oceans community in Canada, and beyond, that was initiated in 2003 by the Canadian Centre for Marine Communications (CCMC). The event is currently the property of the Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University.
Ocean Innovation was conceived as a mechanism to bring the oceans community together annually. It has become Canada's premiere oceans event, attracting significant national and international interest, thereby bringing the world to our shores. The Ocean Innovation series strives to introduce relevant and often provocative topics centered around the latest innovations in the areas of maritime safety, efficiency of operations and sustainable ocean management, while at the same time maintaining a focus on uniting all segments of the oceans community - public, private and academic. With growing international interest and involvement, Ocean Innovation is proving its worth in helping to raise the profile of Canadian expertise, innovation and sound ocean stewardship.
Community Involvement
A concerted effort is made to involve all members of the community, including government, academia, industry and NGO's in the belief that all three have key roles to play and that it is important to give them a 'meeting place' from time to time to discuss and debate timely issues. Although not adverse to large numbers of participants, Ocean Innovation is becoming known and respected as an intimate event that consistently attracts between 250 - 300 delegates and 25 - 30 industry exhibits. Every effort is made to leave adequate time throughout the event for delegates to 'socialize'.
The organizers of Ocean Innovation have, since the beginning, believed that it is important to move the event around the country from year to year. This gives the local oceans community in each region the opportunity to showcase their talents. Perhaps more importantly, taking the event to the community is a proactive strategy to build a sense of purpose and community involvement.
The Format
Ocean Innovation is organized as a two day, single stream conference, with a parallel exhibition. The event is held in mid to late October. The conference program is carefully designed to ensure that a variety of relevant issues related to a particular theme are discussed and debated by all participants. The speaker program is by invitation only. In this way the conference chair and program committee are able to identify and 'hand pick' outstanding speakers who will address key topics around the selected theme.
The single-stream design promotes the cross-fertilization of ideas since every delegate is encouraged to attend every talk, effectively minimizing the tendency found in many other technical conferences to cluster into intellectual 'ghettos'. A concerted effort is made to involve all members of the community, including government, academia, industry and NGO's in the belief that all have key roles to play and that it is important to provide a gathering place' in order to discuss and debate timely issues.
By design, Ocean Innovation emphasizes the networking aspect and provides opportunity for exchange and building relationships through workshops and social events. In other words, every effort is made to leave adequate time throughout the conference for delegates to socialize.
In addition to the technical conference and exhibition, an optional workshop or some other organized event (facilities tours, on-water demos, etc.) may be organized on the third day of the event. An effort is also made to arrange a public lecture immediately preceding the event to help raise the profile of the oceans community in the minds of the general public. Special consideration shall be given to students through deeply discounted conference registration fees. As well, students shall be invited to submit poster presentations for display throughout the conference. In this way, budding professionals are given the opportunity to meet prospective employers, and vice versa.
Ocean Innovation 2009 - Camosun and The Marine Institute Working Together
Traditionally, the event has been hosted by the Marine Institute. However, due to the increasing attention Ocean Innovation has attracted both nationally and internationally, there has been a recent effort to invite other Canadian academic institutions across Canada to host the event. Camosun's intent is to make Ocean Innovation a truly Canadian and inclusive event.
The Marine Institute and Camosun College recently signed a partnership agreement, which is aimed at coordinating and strengthening the educational opportunities for the Canadian marine sector across the country. Hosting Ocean Innovation 2009 in Victoria is the first joint venture within this newly forged collaborative framework. Drawing on Vancouver Island's reputation as an ecologically sensitive region, we chose "Greener Ships - Bluer Waters" as the conference theme. The conference will concentrate on four key areas: efficiency, emissions, coatings and waste.
