The Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection Pat Breen is keeping abreast of pioneering work in cutting edge technology.
On Friday, he visited the University of Limerick’s Digital District at the Park Point Facility in the city for a briefing with Dr Mary Shire, vice president of research and enterprise and Dr Ann Ledwith, Dean of Graduate and Professional Studies.
The Digital District will host a newly established Digital Skills Academy, the Nexus Digital Accelerator and the confirm centre for smart manufacturing.
Ireland’s first Masters in Artificial Intelligence (AI) was launched on January 25 by the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys. The programme will run in UL’s Digital District from September, in association with the Irish Centre for High End Computing.
After his meeting, Minister Breen said, ‘Artificial Intelligence (AI) is shaping a new reality for Irish businesses, creating exciting new opportunities for innovation across all industries. To keep apace with these fast-changing technologies, it’s essential we have a workforce with the skills needed to drive this digital revolution. This Masters in AI will help to address Irish skills shortages in AI in the years to come.
AI is of course very topical internationally at present. On May 15 I will host a ministerial meeting of digital frontrunner countries in Dublin at which AI will be the central theme. I plan to use this event to showcase the Irish AI ecosystem and I have invited Dr John Nelson, course director of the Masters in Artificial Intelligence to attend the event.’
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.