Oceanology International 2020 is to be held virtually, bypassing the current doubts over worldwide travel and quarantine restrictions whilst bringing the Oceanology community together in a fresh, innovative way through the Oi Connect events and meetings platform. Moving to a virtual exhibition ensures that it will be open to everyone, sidestepping travel times and logistics and uniting the global ocean tech audience.

Event organisers Reed Exhibitions have also postponed Oi Americas – originally planned be held in San Diego in February 2021 – until 2023. Oi Connect 2020 will instead serve a worldwide audience in what promises to be the largest coming-together of the ocean technology sector since restrictions began, joining the best of both shows in a single, truly international event.

“The announcement by the UK Government that exhibitions will continue to be disallowed, combined with global uncertainty as the coronavirus pandemic continues, have confirmed our decision to move forward to 100% virtual with Oi Connect and to postpone Oi Americas,” said David Ince, Events Director, Reed Exhibitions. “While it is disappointing to temporarily relinquish the undisputed benefits of physical meetings, demonstrations and networking opportunities, we need to take collective responsibility for the safety of our exhibitors, visitors and staff.

“The team at Oi are well advanced in converting their two years of planning for the physical event into a unique and exciting opportunity to showcase the global marine science and oceanology community in a different, virtual way. We wholeheartedly look forward to blazing a new trail in virtual events with Oi Connect, aiding the industry in moving forward and demonstrating how resilient we can be.”

Oi Connect is an AI driven meetings and virtual event platform, going far beyond conventional videoconferencing facilities and building on the core values of physical Oceanology events to create a forum in which participants can discover innovation, learn about the latest developments in the maritime industry, attend presentations and hold face-to-face conversations. Once a registered attendee for the event has created their personal profile, this powerful tool will assist in finding valuable networking connections and generating high quality 1-2-1 meetings. They will be able to search visitors and exhibitors, identify key contacts based on their areas of interest and job types, build relationships and create business opportunities – resulting in a pre-planned roster of private virtual meetings throughout the event. A team of matchmaking professionals will support the service, assisting with arrangements, aiding with any technical questions and managing the online meetings lounge.

Oi Connect will also facilitate the Oceanology conferences, which provide technical and business insights and an opportunity to explore how connections can help underpin and grow the industry.

Oi Connect will be launching to Exhibitors and Visitors shortly and is open for anyone to attend virtually. The Oi team will be sharing full details with the community soon, and will be on hand to support visitors and exhibitors in their use of the platform and to help maximise their engagement with the global maritime audience. To find out more, and to explore opportunities still available for exhibiting with Oi Connect, visit oceanologyinternational.com.