Standing up for Team Scotland “
SAIC will share its exhibition space to showcase Scottish aquaculture - and provide industry with a ‘networking lounge’
THE Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) has not only secured a much coveted stand at Aqua Nor, but it has also managed to get prime position in the Trondheim Spektrum’s new Hall A. But SAIC is not keeping its space to itself. CEO Heather Jones said her organisation is ‘very active in supporting a Scottish mission to Aqua Nor’.
‘The stand isn’t about SAIC, it’s about Scotland, it’s about the supply chain, it’s about the innovation, it’s about the research expertise and capability,’ she told Fish Farmer last month.
The Scottish Pavilion that was hailed as such a success at Aqua Nor 2017 will sadly not be repeated this year. But SAIC’s presence will go a long way in making up for the lost opportunity.
The popularity of Aqua Nor in the aquaculture calendar means it is very Norwegian colleague, ‘secret weapon’ and marketing and communications manager Benedikte Ranum, a Trondheim local, for negotiating with the organisers for a late slot.
The 20 square metre stand will be jointly branded with ‘Scotland is Now’,
a collaborative campaign between the Scottish government, Visit Scotland, Scottish Development International (SDI) and Universities Scotland.
SAIC’s team of four on the stand will be complemented by representatives from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and SDI.
‘The government is very keen that there is a ‘Team Scotland’ approach to international engagement,’ said Jones. ‘It’s our stand but we’re co-branding with their messaging.
‘SAIC sees it as our duty to work with other Scottish public bodies that would have liked to have been there, and therefore can be there in association with our stand.’
Crucially for Scottish companies and academics who had hoped for booths on a national pavilion, SAIC’s stand will operate as a ‘networking lounge’.
‘If any company is planning to be out in Aqua Nor and doesn’t have stand space, we would invite them to contact our events manager Hazel Peat (hazel@scottishaquaculture.com).
‘She is organising a booking service if companies want to have a conversation with Norwegian companies.
‘What we’re creating on the stand is a Scottish networking lounge; obviously it won’t work if everyone comes at the same time so we’ll have a booking system.
‘But we’re absolutely trying to facilitate commercially promising conversations or collaborative research promising conversations.
‘There is nothing like having a physical presence and being there and having social networks and bumping into people and bringing people to the stand.
‘We’re offering that to all our consortium partners, academic and commercial. Scottish businesses have an opportunity to book a slot and meet people on the stand.’
SAIC will welcome Rural Economy minister Fergus Ewing to the stand and is also co-hosting a reception with Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture.
And there will be other members of the SAIC consortium holding their own events at the stand, which is positioned diagonally opposite and adja
and doesn’t have a stand,
SCOTLAND will also be well represented at the Aqua Nor exhibition in Trondheim by Gael Force Group.
The Inverness based aquaculture equipment supplier is taking an 84 square metre stand in Hall D, alongside the big Norwegian players.
From here, it plans the global launch of what it describes as ‘a newly developed and highly innovative product to the market’.
The exhibition space – a huge step up from the company’s 12 square metre stall at the 2017 Aqua Nor- will also be a showcase for current products and services.
And Gael Force will host a special reception on the opening day, August 20, product, while enjoying some Scottish hospitality.
They will also be joined by a VIP speaker – to be announced soon - at the reception.
Gael Force marketing manager Marc Wilson said: ‘It is fair to say that excitement is building as we get closer to Aqua Nor.
‘We are delighted to be taking a massive step up in stand space compared to two years ago, which is an indication of our growth in standing as a supplier in the global aquaculture sector and, most importantly, will enable us to offer products and services Gael Force offers.’ Gael Force Group will be in Hall D on stand D-355. Norwegian Seafood Research Fund) and Innovation Norway.
‘We’re actually in a section where all of the innovation research collaboration type bodies from Scotland and Norway are going to be co-located,’ said Jones.
‘And we’re in discussions with some of those bodies about having joint events at our stand – probably showcasing existing good collaboration with Norway, such as on AGD.’
Jones is also planning a Wisa (Women in Scottish Aquaculture) event on the stand, looking at good practice between Norway and Scotland in terms of women leaders.
‘There will be some kind of message around role modelling and setting aspirations for Scottish women to progress by looking at what is already happening in Norway,’ she said.
As an exhibitor, SAIC can also access VIP meeting room facilities, which will be used for a ‘Team Scotland’ seminar - led by SDI and supported by
Running from midday to 2pm, this will promote ‘the ambition and capability of the Scottish aquaculture supply chain, demonstrating its high standards, innovation and capability’, said Jones.
The seminar is going to feature Fergus Ewing as a keynote speaker, and will also include an industry plenary session to discuss what the Scottish supply chain can bring to the global market place.
‘It’s about supporting Scottish companies to export their products or services internationally,’ said Jones.
‘The seminar is about Scotland being open for business; we have lots of innovative companies and we want to access global markets.’
Organised in conjunction with HIE and SDI, there will be a video showing - est drinks in the shape of some single malt whisky and Scottish distilled gin.
‘We’re not pretending to be an alternative to the Scottish Pavilion of 2017, we’re nothing like as big,’ said Jones.
‘But we felt there was a clear opportunity for the positive messages happening around the industry in Scotland, and Benedikte opened the door for us.
‘Everyone is now working together to make sure the resources that are available can be used to maximum effect.
‘That is one of the joys of having an innovation centre that is dedicated to a sector - we can help others realise how important aquaculture is to the Scottish economy.’ Visit SAIC in Hall A, stand A-145.
There is nothing like having a physical presence there” and being