October 2020
Alongside Northern Powerhouse, the Department for International Trade (DIT) and the Netherlands British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) recently digitally welcomed nineteen participants to the virtual Offshore Energy trade mission to the Netherlands 2020. Despite the challenges this year presented upon the organisation of the event, it proved to be a great success for all involved, with particularly excellent feedback from the British delegates.
The digital trade mission to the Netherlands was held between 12th and 16th October, offering a week of insightful live sessions, group discussions and networking around the topic of offshore energy and its current developments throughout Europe and beyond. With the use of matchmaking software Navingo, delegates were able to arrange one to one meetings while adhering to their personal agendas.
As the group of delegates were not able to attend a welcome session during a physical journey to the Netherlands this year, presentations from Michiel van Deursen of the NBCC and Suzanne van de Beek of the British Embassy in The Hague were held, to introduce them to the activities of the coming week. The presentations gave a brief overview of the current state of the offshore energy market in the Netherlands, information on the mission itself, and guidance on entering the Dutch market.
The event consisted of a range of opportunities to understand more about the offshore energy market as it stands currently, and potential developments in the coming years. In addition to the large group meetings and live sessions, the Netherlands British Chamber of Commerce and Northern Powerhouse collaborated to offer two pitching sessions to the delegation, with market leaders in the offshore energy sector such as Boskalis and Van Oord.
Due to the nature of this year’s event, without the chance to exchange feedback and to network further during a journey back to the United Kingdom, the 2020 Offshore Energy delegates were offered a ‘wash-up’ session with all participants present. This online webinar presented the opportunity for those involved to express their opinions on the success of the event, the changes that they would make and to celebrate their businesses’ wins as a result of the previous days.
The wash-up session feedback was overwhelmingly positive taking into account that this year’s event presented many challenges regarding international business relations and in particularly on cultivating new connections. The expectations of both organisers and participants were exceeded.
Whether online or in person, the Offshore Energy event has proven itself to be highly successful. No matter the format that the event takes in 2021, the Netherlands British Chamber of Commerce, Northern Powerhouse and the British Embassy look forward to further collaboration on this project in the coming years.