The following was submitted by Matt Boxler, Director of Media Relations at Salve Regina University.

Top ocean industry leaders, blue tech startups, government officials and key marine tech associations will set in motion a working agenda for the Blue Economy over the next decade when Salve Regina University hosts the fifth Blue Innovation Symposium on Jan. 14-16. The event is organized by Salve together with the Consulate General of Canada in Boston and TSC Strategic, an ocean industries marketing and media agency whose portfolio of publications includes Ocean News & Technology.

“Sensors and the Next Wave of Data” is the theme over three days of the symposium, expected to draw about 250 participants, with activities planned both on Salve Regina’s oceanside campus and at Wyndham Newport Hotel. The agenda will cover critically important areas such as innovation in ocean robotics, sensor technology, and the power of disruptive thinking in ocean technology investment.

Keynote speakers include Jim Bellingham, director of the Center for Marine Robotics at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and Olivier Cadet, the president of Kongsberg Maritime U.S. Sponsors include Boston Engineering, WHOI, L3Harris, FLIR, Hydroid, Innovate Newport, and Geospectrum Technologies, among others.

“We’ve assembled an impressive line-up of industry pioneers for this year’s event, and our agenda covers what we deem to be the most critical challenges facing the ocean industries in 2020 and beyond,” said Tobias Stapleton, dean of graduate studies at Salve Regina and one of the event’s founders.

The business development aspect of the Blue Innovation Symposium reflects one of the event’s founding principles: to create both an environment conducive to networking and, in particular, a stage for emerging startups and technologies. According to Justin Manley, president of Just Innovation Inc. and a member of the organizing committee, championing technological breakthrough has clearly been a priority for the event’s founders and has yielded a growing attendance over the years.

“We purposefully offer sponsorship options to fit all marketing budgets,” Manley said. “In 2018, we welcomed 36 sponsors, all of whom benefited from exclusive networking opportunities with key industry members, and representatives from the US and International government agencies. With a full agenda for January, we are excited to welcome the Blue Economy to Rhode Island.”

For more information visit: blueinnovationsymposium.com.