Jones announced as keynote for Maine Aquaculture R&D&E summit

Heather Jones, CEO of the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Center in Stirling, Scotland, will be the keynote speaker for the 5th Maine Aquaculture Research, Development and Education (R&D&E) Summit Jan. 27, hosted by the University of Maine Aquaculture Research Institute and the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center.

The R&D&E Summit at the University of Maine Hutchinson Center in Belfast also will feature industry updates, knowledge exchange sessions, and workshops covering a wide array of topics. The schedule can be viewed here.  

Jones will be joined by Joan Ferrini-Mundy, president of the University of Maine, and Hannah Pingree, director of the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, and co-chair of the Maine Climate Council, to kick off the summit. Jones’ talk entitled “From Scotland to Maine: What’s the path that delivers impact through innovation?” will discuss the importance of the space for knowledge exchange, discussions around new opportunities and the capacity for interdisciplinary collaboration to positively impact and benefit this growing sector.

As in past years, a research priorities survey was conducted with industry and adjacent sectors between April and July 2022 to guide summit topics and format. A final report will be released prior to the event, as well as a user-friendly dashboard developed by Atlantic Corporation to help researchers and industry members navigate the survey data.

More information about the event and its sponsors is online. Questions can be directed to ari@maine.edu.