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COVE Connect | February 2023

Ocean Connector: Environmental genomics applications for environmental management activities in the marine sector

2 February 2023 | 4:00 – 6:00 pm | Colin MacLean Hall

Join us at COVE for our first Ocean Connector in 2023!

Network with members in the marine technology sector and learn about environmental genomics, a rapidly advancing field that promises to revolutionize the way industry conducts biodiversity monitoring.

Dr. Marc Skinner, senior marine scientist and biostatistician at Stantec, and Dr. Robert Beiko, co-founder and Director of Data with Dartmouth Ocean Technologies, Inc, discuss the current regulatory landscape, case studies for advanced genomics sensors, and industrial and regulatory uptake opportunities.

COVE’s Ocean Connector series is proudly sponsored by Cox & Palmer.

Ocean Business 2023

18 – 20 April 2023 | Southampton, UK

The hands-on ocean technology exhibition and training forum, Ocean Business 2023, is taking place in  Southampton, UK, at the National Oceanography Centre from April 18-20th. The networking event will include over 300 suppliers with the latest products, technologies, and demonstrations.

James Kesten, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Rachel Cox, Accelerator Program Manager at COVE, will attend the event. While at Ocean Business, connect with James and Rachel to discover opportunities in COVE’s ecosystem,market-readiness programs, and how to participate in COVE Demo Day on June 14th.

COVE Partners with CarteNav to Digitalize Halifax Harbour

COVE’s Digital Harbour: Seabed to Space will digitally monitor the Halifax Harbour with an integrated system incorporating data sourced from stationary and mobile platforms located underwater on the water’s surface, on land, in air, and via satellite. It will provide visualizations and interpretation tools to a breadth of commercial and other operational users to make informed qualitative decisions about activities in, on or near the harbour.

As part of the initial phase of Digital Harbour, COVE has partnered with CarteNav, a Nova Scotia-based software company specializing in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance mission software, to advance the research, development, and commercial value of above-the-surface marine-based technologies.

“Digital Harbour revolutionizes the marine sector. For the first time, it creates opportunities for the public and private sectors to access integrated real-time data related to the environment, biology, and port traffic and uses, to make better decisions and create opportunities and partnerships to build Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning solutions,” said Melanie Nadeau, CEO, COVE. “Halifax’s dense cluster of innovative ocean and aerospace companies paired with naval, commercial, research, and recreational activities that occur simultaneously in a constrained physical harbour space make it the optimal location for a project of this scope.”

The Government of Canada, through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), is providing COVE with a non-repayable contribution of $497,706 for phase one of Digital Harbour: Seabed to Space. This phase of development will focus on a front-end engineering design and furthering the proof of concept with stakeholders. The contribution is being provided through ACOA’s Regional Economic Growth through Innovation (REGI) program.

COVE Wins Prestigious Innovation Award

COVE has been awarded the 2023 Rising Tide Award! The Rising Tide Award is presented to outstanding individuals and organizations for their exemplary contributions to the blue economy through technology innovation, collaboration, and leadership.

COVE CEO, Melanie Nadeau, accepted the award on behalf of COVE at The Blue Innovation Symposium in Rhode Island on January 25th. COVE’s founding CEO, Jim Hanlon, and co-founder of The Blue Innovation Symposium, Toby Stapleton, presented Melanie with the award.

Congratulations also goes to fellow recipients, Greensea Systems, Inc. and Millicent Pitts, Ocean Exchange.

The awards were sponsored by Ocean News & Technology magazine and Boston Engineering Corp.

Halifax primed to lead NATO tech innovation initiative

It can’t be overlooked that the strength of the innovation ecosystem in Halifax is bolstered by the highest concentration of military assets in Canada with an established industrial defence supply chain that invest in research and development.

On Nov. 18, 2022, National Defence Minister Anita Anand, joined by Immigration and Refugees Minister Sean Fraser, and Liberal MPs Andy Fillmore, Lena Diab, Darren Fisher, Kody Blois and Yvan Baker, announced that Halifax is the proposed location to host the North American Regional Office for the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA).

DIANA, a new NATO body that will create a network of innovation sites in North America and Europe will bring defence personnel together with the alliance’s best and brightest start-ups, scientific researchers, and technology companies. The mission is to foster a transatlantic ecosystem supporting innovation in deep technologies.

If accepted by NATO, the Halifax-based Regional Office for North America would work collaboratively with the European Regional Office in London and would coordinate the work of accelerators and test centres throughout North America to strengthen transatlantic cooperation on critical technologies, and deepen collaboration between NATO, regional industry and academia.

COVE expands its presence at The PIER

COVE is committed to supporting marine transportation and logistics organizations and bolstering Nova Scotia’s position as a global innovation district for marine expertise by becoming a member of The PIER. COVE joins fellow COVE resident companies, ACOA, Bluenode, Enginuity, Glas Ocean Electric, Graphite Innovation & Technologies, Invest Nova Scotia, Marine Thinking, OTCNS, Rimot, and Spiri Robotics, and project partners DeepSense.

The PIER (Port Innovation, Engagement and Research) is a global centre for innovation and collaboration in transportation and logistics. COVE is excited to be a member to service organizations in those areas. We also look forward to continued collaboration between our two innovation hubs.

Over 500 post-secondary students apply to COVE's 2023 Internship Program

Applications for the COVE Summer Internship Program closed on January 23rd to an overwhelming response. Over 500 post-secondary students applied for the COVE Internship program.
From May to September, 35 post-secondary students across Canada will gain experience in the marine tech sector/ Twenty marine technology companies in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland will host the participants. The selected students from various disciplines, including engineering, computer science, finance, business management, and marketing and communications, will be ready to hit the ground running with project-based learning opportunities with their host companies.

We are excited to begin our interview process and welcome our new interns in May.

Irving Shipbuilding Inc, the Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration, and the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) provide funding for our Internship Program.

Ocean Scaleup Accelerator Cohort arrives at COVE

On January 30th, COVE welcomed eight UK companies as a part of the Innovate UK Ocean Scaleup Accelerator Program. The UK companies have joined the COVE ecosystem with designated workspace in the Start-Up Yard. The weeklong visit includes networking events, site visits at Dalhousie University, NSCC and Ketch Harbour, and one-on-one meetings with industry experts, all tailored toward growing their businesses and developing partnerships in the region.

Throughout the program, COVE will host weekly workshops to prepare the cohort for a successful launch into the Canadian market and productive participation at Canada’s premier event for the ocean technology sector, the H2O conference, in June. The companies include Chelsea Technologies, D-RisQ, Max Nicholas Renewables, Hexsor Scientific, AquaTec, HonuWorx, Pure Marine Gen and PicSea. They will also participate in COVE’s premier on the water and shoreside event, Demo Day, taking place as part of the H20 Conference, on June 14th.

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