18th June 2015
Dublin 18th June 2015: Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD today joined The Learnovate Centre, Ireland’s centre of excellence for the EdTech sector, to announce details of its upcoming conference.
International Speaker Line-Up Confirmed
Conference to be hosted by The Learnovate Centre Thursday 25th June in Aviva Stadium from 8:30am
Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD today (Thursday) joined The Learnovate Centre, Ireland’s centre of excellence for the EdTech sector, to announce details of its upcoming conference.
The conference entitled, 'EdTech Enabling the Knowledge Economy', is taking place on Thursday 25th June from 8:30am – 1pm in the Aviva Stadium.
Global investment in EdTech grew from $888 million to $1.8 billion between 2012 and 2014 and it is estimated that the global market will be worth more than $250 billion by 2017. Latest figures for Ireland show that in 2013 there were 2,366 jobs in the EdTech sector and it was responsible for €228 million in revenues and over €170 million in exports that year.
Speaking in advance of the conference Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD said: “Education technology is a niche sector where Ireland has great potential for job-creation. This is a sector which is growing rapidly worldwide, and where Ireland, because of the companies we have and the R&D expertise we have built up over recent years, stands particularly well placed to benefit. We have put in place a range of measures to target job-creation in this area, including the establishment of the Learnovate Centre, and this conference will help with the next wave of supports for this key sector.”
The Learnovate Centre, hosted by Trinity College and located at the Trinity Technology & Enterprise Campus, is part funded by Enterprise Ireland and the IDA. The Centre’s Director, Dr Martyn Farrows, said that the combination of Ireland’s three decade long record in EdTech, aligned with a world-class pedigree in research, is unique and gives Ireland an international edge in the sector.
Speaking today Dr Farrows said: “Working with our partners which include multinationals, Irish high potential start-ups and SMEs, our mission at the Learnovate Centre is to drive growth of the EdTech sector, attract more inward investment to Ireland and ensure the sector continues to create jobs for the country. With a strong heritage in EdTech spanning three decades Ireland is extremely well positioned to play a pivotal part in the development of the sector worldwide, if the funding and policy environments are appropriately framed. The potential for job creation in the sector is just becoming a reality with many of our member companies making strong inroads into large export markets like the US. In addition we're seeing international names from the sector choosing to locate in Ireland because of the talent and skills available to them here.”
“At our conference we’ll have a mix of both Irish and international speakers attending and they will be discussing the sector in all its forms from the traditional educational space to the corporate level. We’ll also have a number of projects displayed to demonstrate the sector and its growth potential.”
Guest speakers at the conference include Pat Chadbourne, a US thought leader in designing and implementing futuristic workforce planning and analytics solutions for global organizations; Sharon Claffey Kaliouby, State Street Global Advisors, Boston, USA; Alan Gray, BNY Mellon; Mary Maloney, CoderDojo; Regina Murray, Microsoft; and Gearoid Mooney, Director of ICT Commercialisation at Enterprise Ireland.
The Conference will explore the roles and responsibilities of both the formal education system and corporate organisations in the development of EdTech and will be of interest to learning and development managers, HR professionals, education professionals and practitioners, learning technology developers and vendors, learning analytics and data protection professionals and policy makers in the fields of education, training and professional development
For more information on The Learnovate Centre visit www.learnovatecentre.org. To register your interest for the conference, log on to www.eventbrite.ie/e/edtech-enabling-the-knowledge-economy-tickets-17257779483.
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Suzanne Sullivan, Q4PR, 01-4751444/086-3797291
Notes to the Editor:
Learnovate Centre - EdTech and the Irish Economy
- Learnovate Centre is the industry-led centre of excellence for research and innovation in learning technologies, co-funded by Enterprise Ireland & the IDA and hosted by Trinity College Dublin.
- The Centre’s aim is to lead learning innovations and to further enhance the competitive advantage of Ireland's EdTech sector.
- Through targeted, industry-led research projects and services it provides innovation support and drives growth and job creation.
Its membership base, which includes K-12, Corporate, Multinationals, and High Potential Start Ups, has grown almost 520% in 2 years - from 9 in 2013 to 57 in 2015. - EdTech is multi-dimensional, incorporating the schools, higher education and corporate sectors.
- EdTech has the potential to be a key driver for the Irish economy both in terms of indigenous SME growth and Foreign Direct Investment. Jobs, revenue and exports in the sector are all demonstrating a clear upward trajectory.
- The latest Enterprise Ireland figures (2013) show that there were 2,366 jobs in the EdTech space and responsible for generating €228 million in revenues and over €170million in exports in 2013.
- A significant amount of jobs are also being created in multinational organisations here, because of the Irish reputation for expertise in this area
What the Irish EdTech sector needs to do to fulfil its potential
- Continued and increased funding for the Learnovate Centre under the Technology Centres Programme to provide support and vision for the sector.
- A competitive business environment which facilitates start-ups, the growth of SMEs and the retention of multinationals.
- Continued access to reliable, high-speed broadband and mobile technology.
- Policy development that supports and incentivises lifelong learning as a means to addressing skills gaps.
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