IoM Space Industry Noted At IoD Event
29 May 2012
The Isle of Man has welcomed praise for the island's burgeoning aerospace sector in an important new report from the Institute of Directors (IoD), considering the future trajectory of the United Kingdom industry.
The report entitled Space: Britains New Infrastructure Frontier, and authored by Dan Lewis, Chief Executive of the Economic Policy Centre, Chief Executive of Future Energy Strategies and Energy Policy Adviser to the IoD, was presented to an audience of 100 key players in the British space industry at a recent event hosted by the Institute.
A full chapter, dedicated to the Isle of Man space industry, The Isle of Mans Mighty Space Sector, highlights the islands ethos of innovation and its commitment to embracing new and growing industries. The report says: "Like many micro nations, the Isle Of Man has a history of quickly adapting to fast emerging industries from fishing to banking to financial supervision to the film industry to e-gaming and e-commerce and now space", with the report putting much of the islands success down to achieving a cluster effect of major companies.
The report also highlighted the island's home grown 'space champion', ManSat, and its role in orbital filing with the UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, in addition to the presence of the Space Data Association (SDA) on the Isle of Man which, just this month, held a successful workshop with the International Institute of Space Commerce with participants from the US and Europe.
Attending the event from the IoD event to launch the report was Tim Craine, Director of Business Development at the Department of Economic Development, who commented: "It is highly significant that the island received the recognition and praise for its space sector from a prestigious body such as the IoD and is further evidence of the strength of the sector and significant interest that the islands space industry attracts."
Alex Downie, Member of the Department of Economic Development with responsibility for Space, added: "The IoD event was an ideal opportunity for the island to demonstrate that its space industry is complementary to, rather than in direct competition with, the UKs space industry. This partnership is important to emphasize how the island adds value to the UK economy as well as providing benefit to our own economy."
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IoM Space Industry Noted At IoD Event