On November 30, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) and Canada's Institute for Ocean Research Enterprise (IORE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to deepen commercial and innovation ties. The institutes have entered a partnership agreement to enable access to the CIE as well as the new Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship (COVE) in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Serving as a collaborative space to support ocean technology commercialization, COVE will be home to local and global ocean technology businesses, start-ups, researchers, and marine-based and service businesses that support the ocean technology sector, said university officials.

The partnership is a natural one for the two regions as the economies and quality of life of Nova Scotia and New England both benefit from ocean-related jobs and earnings, representing $23.8 billion in gross domestic product combined, said officials.

The agreement will result in several areas of collaboration, including providing visiting space for members of each partner organization, shared access to services and equipment, student exchange opportunities, commercialization of new technologies, and new channels for ongoing communication, said UMass officials.

The signing took place at the Maritime Innovations Conference, held at the CIE. The annual event brings together leading edge marine technology companies to provide an overview of current trends in the industry, and showcases start-up companies and their new technologies. The event was sponsored by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and is part of the Center’s mission to connect key stakeholders in order to grow the region’s economy. Canada had a strong presence at the event with a group of 16 Atlantic Canadian firms and organizations taking part.