Bermuda Launches Innovation Centre
Bermuda is to set up an innovation centre as part of a strategy to help foster a competitive and dynamic business environment.
The new centre will take the form of a partnership between the Bermuda Government, universities and economic development organisations to provide support for innovative entrepreneurs and businesses.
Business Minister Rodney Butler said the centre would seek to identify and nurture new ideas and businesses, then support them to succeed and build an industry cluster to develop the skills, expertise and infrastructure needed for the island to be a regional hub for innovation.
The Innovation Centre is to be launched during Bermuda’s Bi-Annual Caribbean Economic Congress (BACEC), which takes place from 1-3 May, on behalf of the Government by Minister of Trade and Industry Donville Richard.
It will be based on the innovation model pioneered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US.
“The establishment of the centre will allow Bermuda to continue to forge a successful partnership with the educational and research institutions of the region,” Mr Butler said.
“It will also reinforce the island’s close ties to MIT and the international science and business communities.
“We believe the centre will play an important role in achieving our strategic objectives, including diversification of our economy and the development of a regional hub for innovation.
“It is also anticipated that the centre will serve as an important centre for teaching and research in the island’s fields of engineering, technology, marine sciences and mathematics.”
The centre will help strengthen Bermuda’s ecosystem, particularly as it encourages collaboration between industry, academia and government.
This collaboration, along with a mutual appreciation of values, aims to create a culture of innovation.
Mr Butler, who has attended several BACECs, has pledged that Bermuda will become a centre for innovation, technology and education in the region.
He says Bermuda’s success will be based on the ability to nurture strong partnerships with industry, academia and research institutions in other nations.
The Minister adds that he hopes to encourage more companies to expand their operations in Bermuda by setting up their own research and development centres, or transferring their R&D facilities to Bermuda.
The Minister also emphasised the need for Bermuda to establish a cluster of innovation that will support the commercialisation of R&D.
In the last few years, R&D in Bermuda
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