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

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 latest Public Services Data Strategy for Ireland is currently under development, building on the previous strategy published in 2019. 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. 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.

Services and Impact Companies

Chair: Prof. Brian Donnellan, Maynooth University

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.

Download Innovation Challenge details here.