Programme of Events

Panel: Digital Futures

Shaping a sustainable society through digital transformation

This panel will discuss Digital Futures of great societal importance to shape an economically, environmental and socially sustainable society through digital transformation. Question how to establish in Ireland an international breeding ground to excel in research, empower people by fostering innovation, education, leadership and entrepreneurial spirit and build a strong community.

Co-creating a data governance framework for an Irish genome sequencing initiative

Chair: Laura Whelan- RCSI

Aim & Outputs:

1) to support Ireland’s participation in the Genome of Europe project in an ethically and legally compliant manner;
2) to facilitate the lawful reuse of collected data for research, healthcare, and health policy purposes; and
3) to address broader ethical and legal considerations regarding the governance, access, and utilisation of genomic data in Ireland.

Description:

This workshop aims to discuss and start formulating a robust data governance framework concerning Ireland’s role in the Genome of Europe project, which seeks to compile genomic datasets reflecting European populations. Central to this is the responsible handling of data generation, management, and sharing. Insights from key stakeholders will shed light on the importance of effective genomic data governance. This workshop will offer context on current global best practices, inviting attendees to provide feedback on the proposed framework. The outputs of this workshop will contribute to a basis for genomic data governance in Ireland and will feed directly into the Genomic Data Infrastructure Ireland initiative.

Exploring the future of Ireland’s public services data strategy: AI, Services and Data in focus

Chair: Denise Manton, Empower

The next Public Service Data Strategy for Ireland is currently under development and will build on the previous Strategy covering the period 2019-23. This Strategy, and the enactment of Ireland’s 2019 Data Sharing and Governance Act, have built strong foundations upon which we can use data in a secure, efficient, and transparent way for the benefit of citizens, businesses and policy makers.
This workshop will delve into the evolving landscape and challenges that need to be addressed to develop an effective strategy. For example, as the importance of data security continues to soar, so do the regulatory concerns which are increasing due to the advancement of generative AI, in tandem with the exponential growth of data volume. Issues surrounding data sovereignty, residency, and compliance now rank as the second most significant challenges faced by organisations in data management today. In addition, this topic is extremely timely with the pending national implementation of the EU AI Act.

However, amidst these challenges, the Data Governance Roadmap for Ireland will play a crucial role to provide guidance and informed decision making as we move towards a data enabled society that is well positioned for the ongoing evolution of public services in our advancing digital economy.

Have your say. Participants will have the opportunity to be acknowledged in the summary report which will be formulated based on the discussions held during the workshop. This report will subsequently be distributed as formal feedback for:
• the Public Services Data Strategy, scheduled for launch by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) in 2024.
• the public consultation on the EU AI Act pertaining to the national implementation process and options available to it with a deadline of 16th July 2024.

Innovation in the Workplace: the Evolving Role of the Tertiary System

Chair: Prof. Brian Donnellan, Maynooth University

Workplace innovation practices have been changing, driven by Digitalisation, Globalisation, Sustainability and other emerging societal forces. A wide range of digital technologies (including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Visualization, Augmented and Virtual Realities) are driving this transformation. Data, its sharing and responsible exploitation enable disruptive business models, new product development, innovative processes and services and evidence-based policy making. As a result, organisations are shifting from product-oriented to service-oriented offerings, forming data-driven service ecosystems and policy makers are leveraging data to Modes of education and research will need to evolve and adapt to the constantly changing demands of the workplace – e.g. a growing role for apprenticeships, micro-credentialled courses and a greater emphasis on experiential learning generally. The potential also exists for closer collaboration and engaged research between policy makers and academics to enhance innovation capacity both regionally and at a national level.

In this workshop we will explore and discuss how the Tertiary System is evolving to enable and support these emerging societal trends and what the impact of such support might have on innovation in the workplace.

Rethinking AI – What do they say in 10 years?

Joan Mulvihill, Digitalisation Lead, Siemens Ireland, Mark Little, CEO and Co-founder, Kinzen (Acquired by Spotify), Stephen Redmond, Director, Head of Data Analytics and AI, BearingPoint Ireland, Michael Beary, Chair, Governing Authority, University College Dublin

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will change human lives, the role of people and all aspects of our society, both in a positive and negative manner. The discussion around AI has accelerated and the volume of new case studies, tools, solutions and AI topics are vast. Time consuming, repetitive and computational human work will be replaced by automation, which will place new demands on governance and the role of people. The Governance of this transformation faces many challenging questions and requires a deep societal debate.

This panel will debate the implications of AI from various viewpoints with leading experts in order to provide a critical reflection on some aspects of AI. We aim to explore what the discussion will look like in 10 years, and if we will look back in 10 years and ask ourselves what did we miss? What should have we discussed in 2024 and how has this impacted us now.

Careers in the Digital Age with impact to the Society Ukraine and Ireland’s Student Innovation Challenge

Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman Maynooth University Sponsored by UNUM.

The annual innovation challenge is organised by Maynooth University’s Innovation Value Institute (IVI) in partnership with Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas and Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman.

We invite small teams of 3-5 students to participate in this competition. Participating teams must present a 12-15-minute presentation on the topic “Careers in the Digital Age with impact to the Society”. This may concern rebuilding the country or energy infrastructure, security and defence, sustainability or economic and wider societal impact and benefits to the society.