Tech giant Google will offer a number of opportunities to residents as part of its corporate social responsibility package to accompany its Nuvem project, a meeting in St David’s heard this week.

Michael Lindstedt, Google’s strategic manager, said the company will offer scholarship opportunities to students to further their studies in the technology field, primarily in the growing sphere of artificial intelligence.

He made the announcement during a town hall event at the Open Door Christian Assembly on Tuesday.

The event drew an attendance of more than three dozen residents who heard about the scope of the project and anticipated benefits to the island.

Mr Lindstedt provided an update on the organisation’s plans to build a transatlantic cable station at St David’s as part of the Nuvem project.

At the heart of the scheme is a cable which will connect Bermuda to Portugal via The Azores, and Bermuda to the US.

Seagrass Ltd, a local subsidiary of Google, launched an “ambition strategy” to develop the cable landing station to receive multiple cables.

The company has started consultation on work at Annie’s Bay in St David’s, where the cable lands into a beach manhole.

Plans for approval have been submitted by the Development Applications Board for approval.

Last year, it was announced that the tech giant would pay $4,867,500 for the 262-year lease of a 5.9-acre site at Burrows Hill, Southside, to create the transatlantic cable station.

Mr Lindstedt was accompanied at the town hall by Javier Goas, a technical programme manager for the Nuvem project, as well as Fiona Beck, Google’s adviser on the island, and other officials.

Among its corporate social plans, Mr Lindstedt said the company was in discussions with the Bermuda College to progress part of its academic mandate on the island.

Talks include providing support to students to further their studies in technology at academic institutions in the US.

The company expects to launch an initiative this year in which it will partner with the island’s electricians for a Google AI training project.

Its aim is to further local knowledge in the application of the technology to their craft.

“This is to help them complete their jobs faster and better,” Mr Lindstedt said.

He said the company will also provide support to St David’s Primary School in the form of community projects.

Over the next two years, it also plans to back the St David’s County Cricket Club, the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo, and other community organisations.

Support to the water supply system at St David’s — an issue raised by residents at the meeting — will be considered by Google.

In the longer term, the company will partner with the Government to use technology to monitor and research illegal fishing in the island’s waters.

“This is something that you would think doesn’t happen but apparently that happens a lot,” Mr Lindstedt said.

He added: “People from other countries come and benefit from the fish that is Bermuda’s fish.

“We are looking at how we can track those vessels.”

St David’s MP Lovitta Foggo questioned whether the project will have any environmental impact on the island.

Ms Beck said that the cable would be subsea and noted that extensive studies have been carried out on the project and its effect on the environment.

In response to a question on whether studies were carried out on any potential health issues from the cable station, Ms Beck said it would not bring any harm.

She said: “This is an exceptionally benign project, this is a piece of fibre optic cable, so it would be very benign.”

Mr Lindstedt said Google is working with Bermuda Nitro Racing Association to build an alternative location for its car track.

The association leases a portion of land on Burrows Hill, where the cable station is to be built.

A planning application submitted by the Bermuda Land Management Company proposed moving the RC car course to 145 Cooper’s Island Road near Clearwater Beach.

Mr Lindstedt said talks on the relocation of the track continued.

On the benefits of the project to Bermuda, the Google executive said it will, among other things, support the island’s digital economy and create technological opportunities.

He said there are five existing subsea cables which run to the island from the US and the new cable will boost capacity, which is critical to the growing demand for Google’s services.

“As those [cables] age out, we would have the ability to have restoration traffic rerouted via Bermuda,” he added.

Mr Lindstedt said in addition to Annie’s Bay, another option, Devonshire Bay, was considered for the landing of the new cable, but following feedback, the company decided to go with the East End option.

He assured area residents that the landing station will create “minimal noise” and only when there is a power outage on the national grid, might the sounds of its back-up generators be heard.

Google started the project in early 2023 and, in February this year, secured the land at St David’s for the project after scouring various locations across the island.

Another town hall meeting at St David’s is planned for the summer.