
The RDI hub building is dedicated to John McCarthy as a tribute to the Stanford University computer scientist. McCarthy was one of the founders of the discipline of artificial intelligence and his father was born in Cromane, near Killorglin in Co Kerry. In the late 1950s McCarthy invented LISP which became the programming language of choice for AI applications. Every year, in September, the RDI hub runs a hybrid Artificial Intelligence Summer School in his honour.
RDI hub AI Summer School (2020-2024)
The inaugural event in the RDI hub took place in 2020, on the topic of AI for Sustainable Living, this was followed in 2021 by AI for Wellness, in 2022 we ran AI for Tourism, returning to the topic of Sustainability in 2023 and in 2024 we ran AI for Sport. The Summer School events are a mix of core and applied research. The core research elements of the summer school will appeal to professors, post docs, PhD students, researchers and graduate students in the fields of AI, Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing. The applied elements have a broader appeal and are accessible to anyone with an interest in Artificial intelligence and the various way it can be deployed.
RDI hub’s key event partners year-on-year include Microsoft, Munster Technological University, Tangent, Trinity’s Ideas workspace, the Adapt Centre, and AI Ireland, harnessing the combined strengths of academia, industry and innovation. Every year the RDI hub team brings a stellar international lineup of the best and brightest minds working in Artificial Intelligence, attracting a mix of remote and on-site attendees.
Speakers at previous events have included, (among others)
Dr Patricia Scanlon, Ireland’s AI Ambassador, Dr Breda O Dwyer, Head of Department at Munster Technological University, Bjoern Roesenthal, Head of Product at Bundesliga, Ciaran McGowen of Tixserve, Omar Salem of Field of Vision, Naomi McGregor, CEO of Movetru, Jamie McGann, co-founder of Moveahead, Kevin Farrar, Head of Sports partnerships, IBM UK
Minister Dara Calleary launched the AISS event in 2024 and had this to say about the RDI hub
‘The RDI hub has long been a centre of excellence in the field of Artificial Intelligence with its strong focus on training, upskilling and providing strategic support, including its recent collaboration with Microsoft to deliver AI masterclasses, and I look forward to seeing what further initiatives the RDI hub will continue to deliver over the coming months and years.’
Generative Ai for Irish Businesses one day event (Jan 2024)
In January 2024 the RDI hub held an event ‘Generative AI for Irish Businesses,’ a closed door, one day event, which explored the GenAI landscape in Ireland at the time and explored how Irish businesses were using the technology for business transformation.
RDI Hub’s Maeve Lyons and Liam Cronin hosted an incredible lineup of speakers including John O’Dea from TechIreland giving an overview of the GenAI landscape in Ireland at present, Russell Kane from Microsoft gave a brief history of AI breakthroughs over the years which paved the way for Gen AI, Martin Duffy from PwC Ireland spoke about AI Adoption and compliance strategies for enterprises, Aidan Connolly from Idiro Analytics spoke about barriers to AI adoption in various industries, Jared Browne from Fexco spoke about Responsible AI and the EU Ai Act.
A panel discussion followed, with Cillian Sugrue of Enterprise Ireland, Rebecca Keenan from Expleo Group, Marie Toft from Emotionise ai and John Durcan from IDA Ireland, discussing AI adoption across industries, and exploring the blockers that businesses in the Southwest currently face.
Valerie Lynch walked through the use case of rolling out Gen AI across ESB, and Richard Skinner of Phased AI outlined the necessary steps for setting up an AI Operations strategy for your business. Closing remarks by Brian Caulfield brought the presentations to a conclusion, and all attendees were presented with a copy of Mark Kelly’s “AI Unleashed” book as the event wrapped.
The event was very well received and uncovered a high demand for peer learning and information sharing, businesses wanted to understand how others had successfully implemented AI, and the solutions it provided. This led to the design of the RDI hub AI masterclass series.
RDI hub Gen AI Masterclasses in partnership with Microsoft (2024)
RDI hub partnered with Microsoft to deliver a series of AI masterclasses specifically aimed at Irish businesses. The idea was to allow people to come together virtually to learn from seasoned AI professionals and industry leaders, who would demonstrate how they have successful deployed AI solutions across their businesses
Time was allocated for breakout rooms and Q&A sessions so people could ask questions and dive deeper. A series of five masterclasses were planned but due to their popularity, the RDI hub continued to provide masterclasses beyond the original five. Three additional masterclasses were held between September and November. These will run again in 2025.
Generative Artificial Intelligence roadshow (Summer 2024)
The programmes team decided to take all the collective learnings from the AI events and explore further to better understand the needs of businesses across the Southwest. The team went out to more than a dozen companies and ran strategy sessions and design thinking workshops to explore how GenAI could transform their businesses, be they customer-facing solutions, or backend processes to improve efficiencies.
The findings were clear: Companies need Artificial Intelligence experts to guide them in successfully implementing AI solutions across their operations.
Plans for 2025
This year we will be continuing with our Artificial Intelligence masterclasses, sharing case studies from companies all over Ireland. We will continue to offer strategy sessions, upskilling opportunities and wraparound services to help companies embark on their Gen AI journey, according to their needs.
We are very excited about the next 12 months and looking forward to watching the companies we work with go from strength to strength.
To find out more about our Artificial Intelligence initiatives please reach out to our Programme Manager Gearoid Kearney at gearoid.kearney@rdihub.com