At 2022 IVI Summit hosted by Maynooth University: Prof Brian Donnellan, vice-president, Engagement and Innovation, Innovation Value Institute; Prof Eeva Leinonen, president of Maynooth University; Minister of State Robert Troy; and Dr Martin Curley, director of the Digital Transformation and Open Innovation at the Health Service Executive.

Minister Troy: 'We cannot stem progress, but we can embrace it'

Minister Robert Troy delivered the opening address and officially opened the new Digital Innovation Space facilitated by the Innovation Value Institute at Maynooth University this week.

The theme for this year’s 2022 Innovation Value Institute (IVI) Summit was ‘Digital Transformation – Shaping the Hybrid Future’.

The Digital Innovation Space is designed to help organisations to manage the digital transformation journey.

It 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 link to digital collaboration platforms that allow interactive discussions and workshops.

Combined with the existing Capability Maturity Framework, digital readiness and benchmarking tools, the digital innovation spaces will provide a comprehensive space for collaboration and co-creation to work with a range of stakeholders, from SMEs to multinationals in a range of sectors, including private and public sector.

The in-person and virtual one-day summit featured experienced industry leaders, policy makers and academic speakers addressing 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.

Minister Troy, who has responsibility for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, 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, added: “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.”