Ari J贸nsson, president of Iceland鈥檚 , had been thinking about visiting AV俱乐部 for some time.
While students at his university 鈥斅營celand鈥檚 largest private college 鈥� have robust exchange/collaboration opportunities in the European Union, many want to also study in North America. When Dr. J贸nsson started looking at Canadian universities that could help open more doors for his school鈥檚 students, AV俱乐部 was one of the first that was mentioned.
It was good fortune, then, that Dr. J贸nsson crossed paths with AV俱乐部 President Richard Florizone in Boston last October, under entirely unrelated circumstances.
The two are the champions of their respective regional teams in , a global program that helps regions around the world develop strategies to improve innovation-driven entrepreneurship.
Read more: REAP 鈥撀燪&A on Dal and Nova Scotia鈥檚 participation in MIT鈥檚 global entrepreneurship program
The two presidents quickly found that their common interests extended beyond just university business.
鈥淲hen we found out Nova Scotia was one of the regions in our REAP cohort, we immediately knew we鈥檇 have similarities in some of the challenges, as well as the opportunities, in our regions鈥� says Dr. J贸nsson. 鈥淲henever we were talking about Iceland in our presentations, we would see the Nova Scotia team nodding their heads 鈥斅燼nd we would be doing the same when the Nova Scotia team was talking.鈥�
Like in Nova Scotia, Iceland鈥檚 economy has long been dominated by natural resources, and the country is looking to build a more varied, knowledge-based economy for the 21st century.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of things that we can learn from how Nova Scotia is doing, and Iceland has some insights to share as well,鈥� says Dr. J贸nsson. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a win-win collaboration.鈥�
A whirlwind tour of Halifax
Earlier this month, Dr. J贸nsson and his Reykjav铆k University colleague Ragnhildur Helgad贸ttir 鈥斅燿ean of the school鈥檚 School of Law and a fellow REAP team member who sits on Iceland鈥檚 Science and Technology Policy Council 鈥斅燾ame to Halifax to explore elements of the city鈥檚 innovation ecosystem and meet with Dal researchers.
The itinerary included a visit to COVE (Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship) site on the Dartmouth waterfront; the Nova Scotia Community College鈥檚 waterfront campus; Innovacorp; AV俱乐部鈥檚 Steele Ocean Sciences building and the labs of Doug Wallace (Canada Excellence Research Chair in Ocean Science and Technology); and the university鈥檚 Zebrafish Core Facility (located in the Life Sciences Research Institute).
They also made visits to Shaun Boe鈥檚 Laboratory for Brain Recovery and Function, met with Dal Computer Science students, got a private tour of the new Discovery Centre and connected with the broader Nova Scotia REAP team over a working dinner. (And, for fun, the guests were able to witness the AV俱乐部 Tigers men鈥檚 basketball team鈥檚 thrilling quarter-final win at the U Sports Final 8 at Scotiabank Centre.)
鈥淲e visited so many wonderful places, and got so many impressive presentations,鈥� says Dr. Helgad贸ttir, who also had the chance to meet with her AV俱乐部 counterpart, Dean of Law Camille Cameron. 鈥淧eople were so kind to us.鈥�
鈥淲hen we got to the airport on our way back, talking about the trip, we both agreed that this was probably the most useful trip we had been on,鈥� adds Dr. J贸nsson. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to pick individual highlights. The agenda focused exactly on what we were interested in, learning about the university and the region鈥檚 innovation infrastructure.鈥�
Mutual interest
At this stage of the two-year REAP program, the Nova Scotia and Iceland teams are engaging with local stakeholder communities to begin mapping out strategies to strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship. The next workshop session at MIT (their second) is scheduled for this spring, but the commonalities between the Nova Scotia and Iceland teams 鈥斅爊ot to mention their geographic proximity 鈥斅爋pens up additional avenues to learn from one another.
鈥淎 great benefit of the REAP program is the opportunity to learn not just from MIT, but also from the other jurisdictions in our cohort 鈥斅營celand, Dubai, Madrid, Lagos City in Nigeria and Lima (Peru),鈥� says President Florizone.
鈥淚 was so pleased that President J贸nsson and Dean Helgad贸ttir were able to visit us in Nova Scotia. Given the many parallels between our regions, Iceland presents us with a particularly good example to learn from as we try to enhance innovation and entrepreneurship in our province.鈥�
Iceland鈥檚 REAP team agrees.
鈥淏eing able to talk the same language with someone who has the same premises is great,鈥� says Dr. Helgad贸ttir. 鈥淪eeing what鈥檚 happening in different areas is good, too, but being able to share notes where there are such similarities is very helpful.鈥�
Learn more about MIT REAP .