"We cannot stem progress, but we can embrace it" - Troy
Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation and local TD, Robert Troy, delivered the keynote address and performed the official opening of the new Digital Innovation Space at the 2022 Innovation Value Institute (IVI) Summit in Maynooth University this week.
The Minister spoke of the need to plan for the technological changes that are on the way, and told the Summit that "we cannot stem progress, but we can embrace it." He also said "we must keep evolving and improving, and for our economy that means embracing digitisation."
The theme of this year's Summit was ‘Digital Transformation – Shaping the Hybrid Future’ and the new Digital Innovation Space which was officially opened by Minister Troy was facilitated by the Innovation Value Institute.
The in-person and virtual one day Summit in Maynooth featured experienced industry leaders, policy makers and academic speakers addressing key issues concerning digital transformation today and into the future. Topics covered at the event included digital transformation for good and its societal impact, the green transition and sustainability, data governance and the work of the SFI Funded Research programme on Data Governance – EMPOWER, as well as European digital skills.
The Digital Innovation Space is designed to help organisations manage the digital transformation journey, and will be a platform to share best practices and examples of Digital Transformation. It will enhance the existing IVI portal with access to a repository of digital transformation use cases, examples and descriptions of digital transformation paths from various sectors. It will also link to digital collaboration platforms that allow interactive discussions and workshops.
Launching the Digital Innovation Space, Minister Robert Troy, said “We cannot stem progress, but we can embrace it. Technology will continue to evolve and we need to plan for the changes coming. We must keep evolving and improving, and for our economy that means embracing digitalisation. The work of the IVI and its partners across industry, academia, Government, and policy spheres concerning digital transformation is extremely important and the Institute’s new Digital Innovation Space will be a vital asset to support our enterprise base to embrace digitalisation. An ongoing and necessary process, digital transformation will future-proof businesses and the broader economy, enabling growth across all aspects of society at a local, regional, national and global level.”
Director of the Innovation Value Institute, Professor Helfert, Maynooth University highlighted the importance of this initiative and said “The new ways of collaboration to co-create digital transformation paths will provide an evidence-based repository to understand success and barriers of digital transformation. With the ambition to address the two essential challenges of this decade, Digital and Green, we need far more insights on how organisation can manage the digital transformation journey. The Digital Innovation Space is key to co-design successful digital transformation paths at the Innovation Value Institute with our members, industry, policymakers and the wider stakeholder groups.”