HOWARD COUNTY, Md. — Howard County Executive Calvin Ball will be speaking at a major cybersecurity conference in Germany later this month.
He'll be joining seven other Howard County officials on an 11-day "European trade mission" through Germany, Ireland, and the United Kingdom to promote the county's prowess in cybersecurity and IT (information technology).
The Howard County Economic Development Authority is leading the trip, which runs from Oct. 19 through Oct. 30, according to a press release.
Ball was invited to speak on “Exploring U.S. Market Entry: A Gateway to the Capital Region’s Cybersecurity Ecosystem" at It-Sa Expo&Congress 2024.
Ball said in a statement that Howard County is "known as the ‘Silicon Valley of the East,’" and that this trip will help the county "solidify its position as a global leader in cybersecurity and innovation, strengthening economic ties and fostering long-term partnerships with key international markets."
He will formalize a partnership between the county's Economic Development Authority and German cybersecurity organization IT-Sicherheitscluster e. V.
In Ireland, he'll formalize a partnership between the Maryland Innovation Center (an incubator in Columbia) and Platform94 (as well as visit the Guinness Enterprise Centre).
Howard Community College - which just broke ground on a Workforce Development & Trades Center - will also partner with the Technology University of Nuremberg, and with Birmingham City University in England.
The county officials will be promoting the new "Maryland-Ireland Trade Commission," including at Midlands Cyber in the U.K., with whom Maryland has a partnership.
Those going on the trip include four members of the Economic Development Authority, the county's chief Information Security Officer, the county's chief of staff, and the county's spokesperson.
They're being joined by representatives of three Columbia IT-oriented defense contractors - TeamWorx, Hopr, and Intelligenesis.
