Agenda

Over the next 5 years, the adoption of digital technologies will have a profound impact on businesses, with as many as 1 in 3 jobs being disrupted as a result! As a leader in a digital age, it is therefore imperative to future-proof yourself, and during this session we will assess just how to go about this.

Key takeaways include:

• Undertaking life-long learning and continuous development to stay sharp
• The value of your network – How to make it a part of your personal value proposition
• How to become an agent of change

Traditional infrastructure in organisations is changing fast through the future of cloud. By operating and storing entirely in the cloud, the digital operating model will provide organisations the opportunity for speed and scale by removing the need for physical systems which can be costly to manage, repair and take up a lot of space! Join this presentation to discover the future of how tech departments will operate.

Key takeaways include:

• Learn how to transition securely from traditional systems
• Discover how a purely cloud-based operating model loud will allow teams to operate more efficiently

Robotic Process Automation is increasingly being implemented into organisations to relieve the workforce of menial tasks. However, as fear increases of job losses to the application of technology, how can organisations reap and educate on the benefits of RPA?

Key takeaways include:

• What does robotics mean for the future workforce?
• How will the usage of robotics relieve the workforce of menial tasks?
• What opportunities will come to reskill and redeploy the workforce?
• How can organisations justify the cost to implement robotics?

Fintech services are changing the way consumers view their finances to help solve many of society’s biggest issues such as financial inclusion and debt. By building a product with the customer in mind from the offset, how is fintech using technology to help consumers manage their money better?

Key takeaways include:

• Utilising technology as an opportunity to change consumer habits towards finance
• Understand how putting the customer first will have the potential to increase brand loyalty

As humans we are hardwired to focus on our weaknesses. In evolutionary terms, it helped us survive in the wild, and continues to feature strongly in our day to day lives. From our education - where teachers red pen highlights more errors than good work. Right through to the workplace where feedback is often focused on areas to improve on. As a result we are often very good at identifying threats, weaknesses and areas of improvement, but rarely can we clearly articulate and focus on our strengths. From this lens, it can be difficult to identify and reach for opportunities when you are more focused on why you’re not quite good enough. In this highly interactive workshop, go through the steps to help you identify your strengths and start to look at opportunities to better utilise them, for your career, your business, and even in your personal life.

Key takeaways include:

• Clear understanding of why identifying your strengths works to your advantage
• Identify and articulate your own strengths
• Explore the opportunities this presents for you

AR/VR technology is providing businesses an opportunity to extend the user experience beyond their core products. User applications within gaming and retail are already adding an additional dimension but how can businesses truly maximise the potential of AR/VR? Join this presentation for a closer look into how AR and VR is being utilised to change the delivery of services.

Key takeaways include:

• How can businesses truly maximise on the capabilities of AR/VR?
• Learn how AR/VR is advancing the delivery of services to consumers

The next time you apply for a job, the fate of your application may not be in human hands; instead, an algorithm could determine whether or not you make the cut. AI could provide an opportunity to cut bias but how can business ensure they can trust the technology? What data is being processed to understand its decision?

Key takeaways include:

• How predictive algorithms work at each step of the hiring process
• Where and how bias can enter into the process

Workshop details coming soon...

As homes become more connected to an open world, cyber criminals have more opportunities to penetrate devices and access personal information. As remote working becomes a widely accepted employee initiative, this could pose a threat to businesses and customer data. With cyber insurance projected to be valued at $3.5 billion by 2025, it is soon likely to be included with any home and business insurance.

Key takeaways include:

• Understand the threats associated with flexible working and how this can affect customer data
• Learn what steps businesses can take to better protect themselves

The world is awash with the continuous emergence of the next best technology; the panacea to our current woes. How do we know if the next wave of cutting edge technology is the solution or if it is just another rebrand of an existing idea? What is the business case for investing in emerging technology? Join this presentation to take a deeper look at some of the most recent technologies to hit mainstream industry and critically analyse their user cases.

Key takeaways include:

• Learn about the biggest technologies impacting businesses and their commercial impact
• Understand if your business is prepared and suited to adoption

Human activity should not compromise the long-term balance between the economic, environmental and social pillars. The evaluation of technology impact is a necessary part of all research and innovation (R&I) and attempts to improve the relationship between technology and society. Emerging technologies have the potential to deliver benefits. However, such technologies are inherently uncertain. Technology designers must examine the ethical implications of things which may not yet exist, or things which may have impacts we cannot predict. In so doing, they must deal with uncertainty. Non-ethicists (such as Designers, Product Managers, Engineers and Software Developers) can and should engage in ethical issues pertaining to the design and assessment of emerging technologies. Join this discussion to discover how this can be achieved using the Human Factors & Ethics Canvas (HFEC).

Key takeaways include:

• Learn how people still play an integral role to implementation and development of RPA
• Understand the importance of ethics when designing and implementing new technology and what impact it can have

Success when leading a business doesn’t come easy but as the organisation grows, so does responsibility and teams. Stakeholder management becomes critical to communication across teams to ensure the delivery of projects is kept to a high standard, but how can leaders keep a high level overview of teams as offices disperse to regionalised locations.

Key takeaways include:

• Learn how to manage stakeholder relationships across different regions
• How can technology support the growth, communication and management of teams?

News media, whether 'traditional' or 'new', remain the primary means through which public conversation is conducted. The representation of women's voices in that conversation has long been a challenge, but as artificial intelligence (AI) systems increasingly pervade news publishing, new ones have arisen, around bias and transparency in particular. At the same time, AI also affords opportunity to redress some of these longstanding problems, through better measurement or the use of well-designed tools to nudge good decision making, amongst publishers and others. Join this talk to discover how AI can be utilised to reduce the risk of publishing harmful and defamatory material.

Key takeaways include:

• Learn why the time to ensure that AI systems are designed and optimised for values, such as equality, is now
• Discover how technology designed through collaboration between computer scientists and public speech experts is crucial to achieving this
• Understand the difference between 'toxic' speech and unpopular opinion

Currently it would take five generations for a person born in a low-income family in Ireland to approach earning mean income. As the future of work becomes increasingly more revolved around tech, access to technology in home and schools has never been more critical for future generations. What can be done to provide and secure the future careers of children growing up in a focus of STEM?

Key takeaways include:

• How can government and enterprise work together to ensure all young people have access to technology?
• What are the impacts of limiting a person's career at a young age?

Join this panel discussion to learn how to maximise access to funding and what is best for your business.

Key takeaways include:

• Understanding what type of funding that is relevant for your business
• Managing the relationship with an investor to help grow and scale your business

Digital business transformation is happening on a scale and at a speed that managers find both threatening and promising. It is therefore crucial for any modern-day leader to understand where their organisation is on their digitalisation journey, how to navigate change and therefore realise your company’s digital transformation plan’s full potential.

Key takeaways include:

• Understanding the broad spectrum of current technological innovation: Analytics tools and applications, mobile tools and applications, social media and non-proprietary platforms for improved digital sharing
• Looking beyond the tech – understanding organisational change and its impacts as a leader
• Understanding how in the context of digital transformation to cascade information as a business leader

With Flexbox, CSS Grid, Variable Fonts and Custom Properties now readily available in all main browsers it’s time to determine how we can use them efficiently in real world projects. In this workshop we will be looking at these newer technologies and how they can be best utilized for building resilient, scalable responsive UI systems. There will be an explanation of the basic techniques for each with real world examples so you can see them in action. Attendees will also learn how to deal with legacy browsers using techniques to ensure your websites will stay accessible and maintainable for years to come.

Key takeaways include:

• Understand how to use Custom Properties for scalable applications
• Learn layout techniques using Flexbox, CSS Grid and an intro to Subgrid
• Learn about variable fonts and how to use them effectively
• Dealing with legacy browsers and progressive enhancement

Like so many well intended efforts the diversity agenda is at risk of doing nothing more than positing that bringing women together to discuss perceived roadblocks to career or societal inequality, engaging in catchy social media campaigns, gender quotas or indeed bringing to the fore female mentoring programs will deliver on the promise of equality. Research shows that many of these ever populist initiatives do little or nothing to progress the goal of equality, and may unintentionally be creating a situation where we merely swap one excluded group with another. The role of the organisation shapes how we architect it and intentionally create opportunities for everyone to contribute, belong, impact and grow, can in fact be the catalyst that creates a truly inclusive workforce.

Key takeaways include:

• Learn how to gain the full commitment of the entire organisation to drive inclusion
• Understand how tying inclusion to business growth will ensure leaders realise the value of diverse organisations

Gen Z have grown up in a virtually cashless world where the rise of virtual banking has taken them beyond the bricks and mortar. As financial institutions lean more on technological advances to close the gap on financial inclusion, are they in danger of excluding older generations? How can engineers ensure that built products are fit for purpose across generations?

Key takeaways include:

• Understand how to make fintech attractive across several generations without alienating users
• What the future holds for traditional brick and mortar finance institutions in a cashless world

Business culture is typically thought of as fundamentally extroverted, meaning that introverts can feel excluded, overlooked, or misunderstood. But being an introvert doesn't mean you can't be a great leader. There are examples everywhere of highly successful introvert leaders like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett! During this session we will consider how being an introvert shouldn’t put you off leadership, and in fact how you can build on your quiet strength to make it a source of great power

Key takeaways include:

• Assessing the common challenges introverts face in the workplace: Stress, invisibility, perception gaps
• Understanding the balance and need in the business for extrovert and introverted leaders
• Examine how to communicate with extroverts

Deep technologies have the potential to deliver dramatic improvements to society's biggest issues. However as they require massive investment and considerable time through research and development, it could be a considerable amount of time before these technologies are brought from lab to market.

Key takeaways include:

• Discover how DeepTech is being utilised some of societies biggest challenges
• How can the industry work to speed up progress?

As with many other STEM areas, Technical Support has traditionally been seen as an exclusively male preserve, with a heavy emphasis on technical proficiency. As organizations mature, they develop an understanding of the need for an approach that is customer-focused, not problem-focused, shifting the required skill set towards a better balance between hard and soft skills. Join this presentation to learn how to successfully recruit and manage women in Technical Support roles, and why this is a good thing to do.

Key takeaways include:

• Understand the importance of langauge in job descriptions and advertisements
• Learn how to develop and retain women in Technical roles

Staying on top of technology trends while running your own business may prove hard to be on top of, especially in a world that's rapidly changing. How can you make sure that a technology application is the right one for your business?

Key takeaways include:

• Pivoting business decisions based on new technology advances
• How to assess what technology is best for your business and gain the most commercial value from it

Navigating through the workplace as a woman comes with various challenges however through constant development and support, organisations can find opportunities for employees to rise through the ranks and become leaders in their own right. Join this presentation to learn how to advance in the tech sector as a woman and how to overcome challenges as you reach new levels.

Key takeaways include:

• Developing and constantly assessing the skills required to progress and move upwards
• Identifying mentors in the workplace to help advance your career
• Tips to help you navigate the industry

The future of AI relies on advances in the underlying machine learning technology, and an effective machine learning architecture for computing at the edge. However, before getting a pure tech conversation, we also need to consider if advancing AI and related technology systems are indeed going to enhance and empower our human capacities?

Key takeaways include:

• Understand the ethics of AI and the importance of matching technology to human values
• Uncover AI’s capacity for making the world a better or worse place
• Understand the changes needed at a political economy level: Data governance regimes

Employee Resource Groups have an opportunity to provide a wealth of insight for executives into their employees and where to focus their D&I efforts. However, by linking ERGs to business operations it can also provide an additional layer to their functionality and also make employees feel like their voice is being heard and valued.

Key takeaways include:

• Learn where ERGs can provide value where homogenous teams fail
• Understand how organisations can constantly keep their employees engaged in D&I efforts
• Should organisation tie D&I into performance reviews?

Great planning often means the difference between success and failure. Where your entrepreneurial dreams are concerned, you should do everything possible to set the stage for success. And that's why a great business plan is one that helps you succeed. During this presentation we’ll consider what makes a great business plan.

Key takeaways include:

• Understanding exactly who it is that you’re trying to convince with a business plan
• Understanding how to write and overview of both your business and objectives
• Researching your market opportunities: How to cover all the bases

How do you build businesses that adequately reflect what the people need? The customer, user or patient is more empowered, knowledgable and involved than ever before, and this session will highlight what tech companies can do to democratise their business models.

Key takeaways include:

• Hear about the latest developments that are making business more user centric
• Learn which industries are leading the way in terms of business democratisation
• Explore success stories and how they made it work for them

The world’s population is aging rapidly, which is leading to increased demand for healthcare and living-support services. According to projections from the World Health Organisation, there will be a projected shortage of 18 million health workers in the next two decades. Artificial intelligence, combined with robotics, can make a significant contribution to solving this crisis. Assisted living robots are being deployed in nursing homes and retirement communities with the goals of improving care outcomes for older adults and empowering care staff to spend more and better-quality time with residents. Niamh Donnelly is responsible for the development of AI and machine learning functionalities, which enable Stevie to better perceive and interact with people in its environment.

Key takeaways include:

• Discover findings from two international beta pilots
• Understand the major ethical considerations within robotics
• Learn how robots uses machine learning and AI to learn and adapt

As organisations grow, emerging technology offers an opportunity to innovate and build on collaborative projects across teams and regions. Breaking the chains of individually siloed teams, it allows an opportunity for employees to communicate faster and collaborate easly to fasten innovation. Join this presentation to understand the opportunities facing organistion collaboration through technology.

Key takeaways include:

• Learn how emerging technology is changing the way employees collaborate
• Discover how building cross-functional networks can unlock innovation across dispersed teams

Artificial intelligence has the opportunity to transform the financial services and automate decision making services based on data input. However if not implemented properly in line with pre-existing systems and in line with regulation, AI may cause more harm to the customer than good.

Key takeaways include:

• Understand the safe and secure routes to implementing AI
• Learn what data is required for fair and accurate responses

In this workshop, set your career trajectory by analysing your current levels of commitment, capability and confidence in achieving career progression. This workshop will enable you to take stock of your career to date, assess your current strengths and achievements, your talents & abilities and create a targeted action plan for career advancement.

Key takeaways include:

• A different way of looking at career success
• Ways to build your confidence in your strengths
• A high impact plan for your career

When machine learning is based on an input of data, who is responsible for the results, and what does that mean? Exploring the ethical questions machine learning is bringing to the forefront.

Key takeaways include:

• Assess the interpretability of algorithm behaviour, and who is responsible for discrimination and bias learned from human data
• Hear examples from real world applications and how ownership, risk and responsibility has been managed
• Understand how ethical questions are being addressed, including post processing, data resampling and causal reasoning

They say that first impressions count for everything and as an initial introduction, names hold a lot of information that build an image of a person. From nationality to gender, a person’s name may be subject to a number biased shortcuts which may prevent them from bringing their whole self to work.

Key takeaways include:

• How can employees be more culturally aware to the diversity of employees
• Implementing a preferred/chosen name strategy

Workshop details coming soon...

Trust is the foundation in everything we do. Without trust, there would be no family, no houses, no markets, no religion, no politics, no rocket science. It is the social glue that enables humankind to progress through interaction with each other and the environment, including technology. But what if trust is broken? Join us in this session as we discuss how we can rebuild trust in the systems our society is increasingly becoming dependant on.

Key takeaways include:

• How authenticity, logic and empath can power trust
• How leaders can demonstrate why and how their work benefits society
• How to establish a global market that thrives well into the 22nd century

We live in a world that is evolving quickly and we are witnessing the ramifications of capitalism on the planet and it's consequential socio-economic implications. We can leverage technology for good in solving these big world problems. There are emerging developments where we are seeing existing technology be deployed to respond to such problems. Let’s explore what that is, what that means, and what more we can do.

Key takeaways include:

• Understanding the existing tech tools shaping our world
• Be informed of the implications of leveraging such technologies
• Be inspired on transformational projects in tech

Businesses are in need of employees with data and technological skills if they are to keep up with the vast growth of innovations. Could coaching and reskilling existing staff to work with the technology of the future inspire in-house innovation?

Key takeaways include:

• Identifying the skills gap in your current workforce and investing in their development
• Will the introduction of T-Levels in education provide a future workforce with a deeper technological understanding

Set out by the UN, the Principles of Responsible Banking provides the framework for financial institutions of any size to demonstrate how their products are contributing to solving one of society’s biggest threats. With growing consumer pressure on CEOs of the largest corporations to address their ESG criteria, how can the financial services contribute to slowing the effects of climate change?

Key takeaways include:

• Understand the benefits of green bonds and learn how to gain stakeholder buy-in
• Learn how fintech and legacy corporations can engage with consumers to consider their climate footprint

In an ever changing political climate, an exciting opportunity to build a new tech hub in Ireland emerges. With a large tech entrepreneurship scene and a growing presence of large tech enterprises, what can be done to sustain this growth and maximise on opportunity?

Key takeaways include:

• Learn what opportunities for growth are facing Ireland's technology landscape
• Understand the role of women in Ireland's tech growth

There are many challenges in the collection of data for research purposes. This presentation will outline the shifting data governance landscape that had led to a review of current data collection practices. Several key elements will be explored including data security, data privacy, data standards, regulation, technology innovations and changing end user expectations.

Key takeaways include:-

• An understanding of data security & privacy
• Applicability of data standards and technology innovations
• Technology innovations and the changing end user expectations

The increasing usage of returnship programmes is embracing workers who have been subject to a career change whether that decision be driven by family or health. By trialing returned workers in different departments, it not only provides an opportunity for a more inclusive workforce but can portray organisations as progressive in their approach to women and health.

Key takeaways include:

• Identifying where return workers are best suitable in the organisation
• What are the best routes to attract applicants?

Payment technology is changing rapidly and companies need to be able to adapt. A panel of payment experts discuss how payments are changing rapidly and how our organizations are creating innovative ways for consumers to pay and move money faster.

Key takeaways include:

• Learn about how the payments landscape is changing with new ways to pay
• Learn how changing technology will affect you and your organisation
• Learn what these changes will mean for future cost and security

Middle leadership can be either transformational in your career or for some, where they top-out. So how can you create impact and awareness from a middle (or indeed any level) leadership position? During this presentation we will assess the tools and techniques to help you succeed both at middle management level and beyond.

Key takeaways include:

• How to master the art of negotiation
• Top tips to feel empowered to handle any and all difficult conversations
• Pinpointing how to identify toxicity in your team(s) and tackle it!

How will new technology will bring the benefits of city life to the comfort of the countryside? Will we soon be able to enjoy the benefits of city life from anywhere? During this presentation we'll share the technology we are using to create city life everywhere.

Key takeaways include:

• A deep dive into the latest technology assisting in city planning
• The do's and don't when it comes to expectations of our tech
• How to ensure you are investing wisely in property in the next 10 years

A modern-day phrase that’s increasingly being heard is that of the ‘portfolio career’. Gone are the days when you leave school and get a job in a company that you spend the rest of your life in. In fact, these days people don’t even spend their entire working lives in one field, let alone one company! Hence the emergence of the ‘portfolio career’, incorporating lots of different jobs, often simultaneously and back-to-back! There are many ways to build a portfolio career, and during this presentation we’ll consider the advantages and risks, alongside the rewards that can be reaped from this modern-day way of working.

Key takeaways include:

• Assessing the benefits to portfolio careers
• Understanding where portfolio careerists can leave themselves vulnerable, short and long term
• Is a portfolio career a better way of protecting yourself against job losses?
• The advantages in terms of creating greater opportunity for continuous learning?

Like any career, being a founder requires some specific skills and the right preparation is therefore essential! During this presentation we’ll hear from people that have already made the leap to becoming founders, and the advice and guidance that they would give to aspiring founders.

Key takeaways include:

• How to create a founder network to source experience through internship or work experience
• Steps to finding yourself a mentor or maybe even two
• How to take advantage of either free or taught classes on entrepreneurship

Pilot projects in cities are showcasing exciting usage applications of how technology is solving some of society’s biggest problems however as cities work in individual silos, projects are often repeated and tested with a high cost to the public.

Key takeaways include:

• What impact will BigTech have on city development?
• How can technology provide a faster solution to the public sector’s biggest issues?
• How can cities ensure accessibility for all for the future of communication?

Diversity and inclusivity in the workplace is a hot topic for multinational corporations and start-ups alike. Today, it’s well-accepted that employers and employees benefit from a diverse workplace. But what does this mean in the technical world? In short, it means innovation. Diversity has been identified as a key driver of creativity and is a critical component of being successful on a global scale. Join this presentation to learn how invigorating workflow with developers and engineers of all backgrounds can increase innovation.

Key takeaways include:

• Understand how embracing diversity of thought within technical teams can overcome design challenges
• Why it’s more important to focus on the common goal, than what makes us different

The last five years have witnessed a dramatic increase in the competition for attention. You must be able to develop a clear message that is relevant, and audience focused. This presentation will assess how to develop specific strategies to strengthen your personal brand in a manner that will distinguish you from your competitors.

Key takeaways include:

• How to create and manage your online presence (on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook)
• How to listen to understand?
• Ways in which you can adopt a compelling approach to showing up and holding the attention of an audience

Join this presentation to discover how the constant development of employees to be skilled for new technologies is critical for organisations to retain talent and encourage innovation.

Key takeaways include:

• Investing in employee training and reskills to ensure they are equipped with new technologies
• Identifying the skills gap in your organisation to prepare for the future

For trans identifying people, the concept of bringing their whole self to work may not be fully possible due to rising medical costs associated with transitioning and as well as general policies not being all-inclusive. With only an estimated 2% of the population identifying as trans, organisations are highly unlikely to feel a cost associated with providing healthcare for the general wellbeing of an employee.

Key takeaways include:

• Providing the opportunity for healthcare benefits to support trans employees
• What other policies should be taken into consideration for trans inclusion?

Mobile-first banks and cryptocurrencies are becoming the driving force behind the move towards a completely cashless society, but historically, regulators and policymakers are slow to respond to new innovation. As the new regulation moves to enforce Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorist Financing (CTF) how can financial services prevent criminal activity while protecting their customers privacy?

Key takeaways include:

• Understand the benefits of a Central Bank for Digital Currency
• How new regulation will impact the privacy of consumers

Research shows vulnerability is the key driver in human trust and connection - it’s the birthplace of innovation, change and risk. Join us in this talk as we explore authenticity in the workplace.

Key takeaways include:

• How authenticity can unlock greater creativity, connection and performance
• Understand how creating a sense of belonging in the workplace will help retention and development

Comparing programming languages is a very complex thing, and it is also somewhat influenced according to programming trends too. During this presentation we’ll consider the trends of top programming languages which will continue in 2020, with a view to helping you decide to either switch to or add additional languages to your arsenal!

Key takeaways include:

• Reviewing popular programming language trends over the last 5 years
• Pinpointing the current market-leading programming languages
• Assessing why Python has risen in the rankings

During this presentation we will address some of the common challenges that companies face when making the move to an agile work environment, as well as tips for overcoming those hurdles to ensure you achieve your goals.

Key takeaways include:

• How to ease an employee’s anxiety and resistance for successful implementation
• Tips to driving cultural change with good workplace design
• Managing the impact on employee’s health and wellbeing

When embarking on creating a start up, one of the most important decisions you’ll need to make is around the tech stack that you should implement. If you’re a founder without a tech background this is made even more difficult a task and can feel somewhat overwhelming in the face of the breadth of choice out there! During this session we will consider the fundamentals to ask yourself in making a tech stack choice.

Key takeaways include:

• Assessing which programming language to use
• How to differentiate on web framework selections
• Understanding the importance of a properly align back-end and front-end frameworks