J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics at the University of Galway, in partnership with itag, Galway Chamber and Data 2 Sustain, convened 300+ business leaders and policymakers to the University of Galway’s Regional Business Summit (RBS) 2024. This pivotal event served as a platform for discussions on the pressing global challenges confronting businesses in our contemporary landscape.
“How can we support the region, and more broadly Europe, to cultivate enterprises capable of competing with giants such as Google on the global stage? How can we reevaluate ‘business as usual’ in line with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? And how can we match the speed of accelerating technological demands in a responsible manner?” These questions served as the focal point as multinational and indigenous companies collaborated with academic experts to provide practical, research-driven and pragmatic insights to these questions. University alum Irial Finan returned to his alma mater to the inaugurate Summit with a keynote speech, drawing on his vast experience and extensive career in the changing landscape of global business. For those who couldn’t be there, Cois Coiribe brings you a roundup of memorable discussion points from the signature event.
A new future for business and finance cannot be delivered without the industry leaders of tomorrow; and the University’s commitment to this future is clear with the launch of a new MSc programme (2) during a panel on sustainable finance, featuring Deloitte, Skyspecs and Banking & Payments Federation of Ireland. New programmes in FinTech and Management & Sustainability have emerged in response to growing industry demand for expertise in sustainable strategy, ESG and responsible technological optimisation.
Barry Gavin, Adjunct Lecturer said of the panel discussion, “Sustainability has gone from a ‘nice to have’ to a ‘need to have’ for companies, be they small, medium or global. A summit like today’s helps raise awareness. And the networking, which is an integral part of it – allows people to share ideas, knowledge and learnings – because a lot of people are trying to figure things out as [they] go.”
At a panel on digital responsibility, the University launched a timely €3.5m fellowship project on research into ethical practices around technology, titled ROSETTA: Responsible Time and Tech in an Accelerated Digitised World. ROSETTA will recruit 19 top researchers to delve into the social impact and implications of digital policies and business practices. (1) The fellowship will support researchers to challenge assumptions around responsible tech, and in the words of Principal Investigator, Prof Kieran Conboy, “scrutinise to what extent these ‘responsible’ efforts are real and […] effective.”
Various perspectives weighed into a panel on digital responsibility, from Western Development Commission, PennEngineering and Centripetal Europe (a company with the largest collection of threat intelligence in the world). Commenting on the discussion, ROSETTA supervisor and Assistant Prof, Anastasia Griva said, “We’ve managed to challenge current assumptions around AI, analytics and cybersecurity, and we’ve learned a lot from our panellists.”
Conversations on responsible technological acceleration continued into the next panel on scaling. According to a 2023 repo, European companies could generate up to €3.2 trillion in additional revenue by 2024 if they were to close the technology deficit against their counterparts in North America. The scaleup gap in Europe has been widely recognised in recent years, and with our strategic location at the edge of Europe, the West of Ireland has a vital role to play in bridging this gap. Following a brief introduction to the Centre for Entrepreneurial Growth & Scaling (CEGS), panellists from business, support agencies and academia debated the critical ingredients for successful global scaling.
Panellist Leo McAdams of Enterprise Ireland said, “There is a huge amount of support, including funding support, [involved in] making sure that Europe is coming out with the next Googles and the next life sciences companies – that we have more European companies that are global leaders. What I think is great here in the University is the work that has been going on in the area of scaling. The Center for Entrepreneurial Growth & Scaling is a fantastic initiative; it is something that we really need to move the dial on the scaling agenda.”
Summing up the spirit of collaboration on the day, Elaine Murphy of Signify Health praised the School and Centre for “bringing the likes of Enterprise Ireland and the IDA on stage together, shoulder-to-shoulder, to show that we have huge cross correlations and opportunities for the future growth and development of both multinational and indigenous companies. It’s fantastic […] to see the energy, the passion, the drive and the thought leadership in the room.”
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The Regional Business Summit is an annual event facilitated by J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics, University of Galway, as part of “Thinking Beyond: An Event Series for the Public Good.”
Click to learn more about: ROSETTA, MSc FinTech, MSc Management and Sustainability.
(1) The ROSETTA project is led by J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics, and funded by Lero, Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software and the EU Marie Curie COFUND scheme.
(2) Dr Féidhlim McGowan introduced a new This new programme represents a leap in financial education, marrying FinTech with sustainable procedures to prepare graduates for a new world of finance and ESG.
