PORTLAND, Maine — Maine education and government officials are heading to Iceland this week in hopes of building ties and partnerships between the nation of 323,000 and its nearest U.S. neighbor.
“The core of economic growth is education,” University of Southern Maine President Glenn Cummings said in a news release. “We’re traveling to Iceland to build strong educational partnerships that will both create exciting new opportunities for our students and set the stage for economic growth between our two countries.”
Among the group of 40 leaving for the five-day trip on Wednesday are Cummings, Jim Owens of the Maine Cyber Security Cluster, Firooza Pavri and Judy Tupper of the Muskie School, and Tracy Michaud-Stutzman, a tourism and hospitality professor at USM.
The interest in building relationships with Iceland dates back to 2013, when Eimskip, a shipping company based in Iceland, tapped Portland to serve as its U.S. port of call, according to USM. Gov. Paul LePage led a delegation of his own to Iceland and the United Kingdom in June 2014.
A month ago, Cummings joined a group of education and business leaders on the bridge of an Eimskip freighter to sign on to a partnership supporting a marine-related business incubator, New England Ocean Cluster House. Other Southern Maine universities and community colleges also have put their support behind the effort, which will seek to spark businesses and increase trade at ports of call throughout the North Atlantic.
The trip for all university faculty and staff will be funded through the Maine Economic Improvement Fund. Cummings said he his paying his own way.
Government officials also will tag along, including U.S. Sen. Angus King; Dana Eidsness, the director of the Maine North Atlantic Development Office; Patrick Arnold of the Maine Port Authority and others.
“In many ways, the Arctic is a new frontier, and with Maine as one of the closest American trade hubs, our state will play a central role in facilitating new lines of trade and dialogue that can help foster economic prosperity and contribute to cultural and educational exchange opportunities,” King said. “I look forward to participating in the Arctic Circle Assembly and furthering the conversation about how we can work collaboratively with other nations to usher in a new era of forward-looking leadership in the Arctic.”
Follow Nick McCrea on Twitter at @nmccrea213.