AI Ireland with Mark Kelly

In today’s show, we are delighted to welcome back Dr. Pepijn van de Ven, Senior Lecturer at University of Limerick. Pep is course director for UL’s part-time industry-driven masters in Artificial Intelligence and is responsible for the delivery of several modules on this fully online programme. In the episode, Pep discusses how the Masters programme has advanced since our past episode and he also tells us about the introduction of their new NLP stream which will commence in September 2022 and a planned Machine Vision stream for September 2023. Topics include: Success of the Masters program over the past year Feedback from students taking the course Plans to extend the course into NLP and Machine Vision What to expect from the NLP stream How the course material is utilized by students in companies How to get involved and find out more about the course

In today's episode, Allan Beechinor, CEO at Altada Technology Solutions and Ken Finnegan, CEO at Tangent Trinity's Ideas Workspace discuss the success of the Alsessor Accelerator. The brainchild of Allan and co-founder Niamh Parker, Alsessor has quickly grown into Ireland’s foremost accelerator program for early-stage AI start-ups. Taking place over five action-packed months, the program is designed to help business owners develop a stronger commercial edge as they move from prototype phase towards the commercialisation of their businesses. Topics discussed: Early AI Island days and how Alsessor came about The recent growth of Altada Technology Solutions What's involved in the Alsessor Accelerator An overview on some of the companies taking part in Alsessor The success they have enjoyed with the accelerator music: bensound.com

In today's show, we are joined by Niall Larkin, Senior Programme Manager at RDI Hub and Patrick Fenton, Chief Programme Officer at Idiro Analytics who will tell us all about the upcoming workshop “Data Strategy for a Digital World: How every company can leverage the power of AI for profit” which takes place on Thursday 28 April 2022 at the RDI Hub in Co. Kerry. Digital transformation is incomplete without a data strategy. Your business needs a data strategy to succeed in a digital world. At the end of this one-day session, your company will have a clear strategic roadmap describing how you can unlock revenue from your data assets and how your company can access and leverage the power of AI to drive profits and open new markets. In the podcast, we discuss: More details about the workshop Why a Data Strategy is so important to your business How to get involved What to expect from the event

In today’s show, we are joined by David McQuaid, Senior Lecturer within the Faculty of Computing & ICT at CCT College Dublin. CCT College Dublin offers a range of programmes (many of which are government funded via Springboard+ or the Human Capital Initiative) in Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics and Systems Security from level 7 Diploma to level 9 Masters Degree. All courses are offered via blended learning on an evening and weekend basis to allow those working full-time to upskill and bring their learning from the classroom directly into their organisation.  These programmes have been developed in partnership with Microsoft Ireland, so in addition to the academic qualifications obtained and accredited by QQI, students can also achieve professional Microsoft certification in areas like Azure, Data Analytics and AI. Topics include: The current work he is doing with CCT College Dublin Courses they offer within AI and Data Analytics Who can apply to their courses & what you will learn How students are managing the work-life balance A shared experience from one of their students What to expect on completion of their courses The next intake for these courses is late January/early February and they include: Higher Diploma in Science in Artificial Intelligence Applications Higher Diploma in Science in Data Analytics for Business MSc in Data Analytics Diploma in Networking & Systems Security To discuss your or your organisations professional development needs in this area, please contact CCT College by emailing info@cct.ie or upskill@cct.ie to arrange a call.  More information can also be obtained at www.cct.ie

In today's show, we are joined by Luca Marchesotti, CEO and Founder at Sparkd.ai.  Sparkd is a Machine Learning consulting firm providing clients with a tailor-made solution, end-to-end support, and world-class training, extracting the most value from data. Sparkd's team of Machine Learning and Computer Vision experts offers an extensive understanding of specific use-cases to different business sectors, with a focus on the Manufacturing, Retail and Agritech industries. Topics include: An overview of the problems they are solving at Sparkd Use cases of how they apply Computer Vision within Agritech Quality control within Manufacturing Interesting work they do within Sports Analytics Common challenges they need to overcome Where he sees AI heading in the near future

In today's show, we are joined by Jimmy Hennessy, Director of Data Science and Software Engineering at ACI Worldwide and Des Ryan, Director of Solutions and Cybersecurity at Microsoft Ireland. Jimmy and his team at ACI Worldwide recently scooped the top prize at last month's AI Awards for Best Application of AI in a Large Enterprise. They are global software company that provides mission-critical real-time payment solutions to corporations. Customers use their proven, scalable and secure solutions to process and manage digital payments, enable omni-commerce payments, present and process bill payments, and manage fraud and risk. They combine our global footprint with local presence to drive the real-time digital transformation of payments and commerce. Topics include: The current work he does with ACI Worldwide Their approach to research and importance of failing fast The teams patent for tackling fraud detection Challenges of applying Incremental Learning within fraud detection An overview of the current Cybersecurity landscape Trends they found in the Microsoft Digital Defense report The future of online sales and cybercrime

In today’s show, we are joined by Patricia Maguire, Professor of Biochemistry at University College Dublin and Kevin Marshall, Head of Education at Microsoft Ireland. In the show, we will talk about AI_PREMie, which combines machine learning and cutting-edge omics methodologies to develop a new platform for the diagnosis and treatment of pre-eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia is extremely difficult to diagnose and results in the deaths of 50,000 mothers and 500,000 babies every year. The team at AI_PREMie are creating an affordable tool to closely observe pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia and prevent unnecessary adverse outcomes for both mothers and babies. The team were a recent finalist in the Best Application of AI to achieve Social Good at the 2021 AI Awards. Topics include: AI_PREMie’s work in diagnosing pre-eclampsia in mothers & their babies The multi-disciplinary team behind this great work Challenges to overcome such as data privacy and the impact of the pandemic Results they are seeing from the pilot project The role of Microsoft Ireland in combining technology with education Other interesting AI in Healthcare projects they are involved with

In today's show, we are joined by Patrick Callinan, Director of Insights and Data Science at CarTrawler, which brings opportunities to life through a global online marketplace connecting partners, customers, and suppliers. Their market leading B2B car rental and mobility platform expands airline and travel partners’ offering to their customers, while deepening those relationships and creating substantial ancillary revenue opportunities. CarTrawler provides unrivalled breadth and depth of transport suppliers across the globe, including car rental, private airport transfer and ride-hailing services. CarTrawler works in partnership with many of the world’s biggest travel brands, providing mobility services for over a quarter of the top airlines brands globally. As a B2B company, they focus solely on helping their airline and travel partners build their brands. Topics include: His background and journey working with data The work is he currently doing with CarTrawler How they are improving the customer experience Getting the data fit for purpose 3 key areas on how they achieved success at CarTrawler The future of the travel industry

In today’s show, we are joined by Dr. Markus Helfert. Markus is a Professor for Digital Service Innovation, the Director of the Innovation Value Institute, Director of the SFI co-funded Research Programme on Data Governance – Empower and Coordinator of the Business Informatics Group at Maynooth University. He is also a Principal Investigator at Science Foundation Ireland, the ADAPT Research Centre and Lero – The Irish Software Research Centre. His research interests include Data Governance, Data Value Management, Information Management, Cloud Computing, Service Science, Enterprise Architecture and Open Data and Smart Cities. Currently he advises several small and medium sized Enterprise in relation to Innovation and IT Management. Markus has authored more than 200+ academic articles, journal and book contributions and has presented his work at international conferences. Topics include: His background and journey to now Interesting work he is doing in AI and Data Governance Technical and business challenges to overcome Interesting case studies of his work Future research in the field of data governance

In today's show, we're delighted to welcome back Conor McGinn, CEO at Akara Robotics and Funded Investigator at the ADAPT Centre. A spinout from one of Europe’s leading robotics labs at Trinity College Dublin, Akara Robotics' mission is to develop new technologies that can empower and support frontline workers in the healthcare industry. Akara offers an end-to-end disinfectant solution that can be deployed in hospitals, nursing homes and potentially endless other areas where harmful germs reside. The system uses a patent-protected, state-of-the-art disinfection robot known as ‘Violet’, which has emerged from nearly two years of collaboration with some of Ireland's leading microbiologists at Trinity College Dublin. Topics include: The work he is doing at Akara Robotics Their Human centered approach to developing Robots The importance of collaboration to achieve success How their recent funding will help grow the company  Technologies used to create their disinfection robot 'Violet' How 'Violet' will impact the Healthcare industry