The Irish Tech News Podcast

Curated metaverse platform Metropolis World engages Flare as a key interoperability partner powering seamless movement between different metaverses and blockchains Metropolis World, a soon to launch curated metaverse platform, announces a partnership with Flare, a new blockchain which enables secure decentralized interoperability between chains and metaverses. Flare’s blockchain technology will allow for the seamless movement by users between different metaverse ecosystems and blockchains, such as Decentraland and Sandbox, which is a key aspect of Metropolis’ vision for the metaverse. The Flare partnership means that Metropolis World becomes a one stop destination as it now has a bridge into other metaverses. Metropolis users will be able to move into other worlds easily without borders. Metropolis World differentiates itself from other metaverse platforms due to its design aesthetic: its cities are created digitally by hand and every property is a unique standalone piece of art. Unlike the majority of NFT collections Metropolis is not utilizing generative art to create the actual cities. The real-world ecosystem is already developed as it has formed partnerships with a wide range of high-profile ambassadors from the worlds of music, art, gaming, NFT, crypto and business whom it is calling founding citizens. These include — 3LAU, Bored Elon, Chad Knight, Dillon Francis, Diplo, Fvckrender, Valfre, Meltem Demirors, Outlier Ventures, Steve Aoki. Metropolis’ first metaverse city called Celeste is launching in the fall and over the next 12 months it will drop its avatars and the ecommerce platform. Within 18 months it expects to launch six cities with each property sold as an individual NFT. Hugo Philion, CEO & Co-founder of Flare, said: “Interoperability is a critical challenge, not just for blockchains, but also for metaverses. We share Metropolis’ vision for a seamlessly interconnected metaverse universe, and as their key interoperability partner, we will be implementing decentralized and insured LayerCake bridges to ensure safe transit for all user assets.” Rashid Ajami, Co-Founder of Metropolis World, said: “The backing of Flare enables us to offer users the seamless movement between different metaverse ecosystems — this really sets us apart and reflects our big picture vision of how the metaverse is going to evolve.” Rania Ajami, Co-Founder of Metropolis World, said: “Metropolis will offer a metaverse experience unlike anything else out there. We see huge scope for the platform globally as the melding of digi-physical immersive experiences for our users blends into one life, but not just in our capital cities of the metaverse but on other platforms too thanks to our partnership with Flare.” To listen to a podcast with Rashid and Rania - tune in here. Your host is Jillian Godsil

When we reflect upon who we are and where we are in our career path, who has influenced us the most in our journey, to become the person we are today? In this episode of One Vision, we welcome the return of our co-host Stephanie Foster, as we chat with Dana Wilson, CEO and Founder of CHIP, on wealth management and the importance of empowering others to live their financially authentic lives.  There is no magic bullet — nor a single set of remedies — when it comes to fostering diversity and inclusion. From family endowment, education, employment, access to finance, to representation, and social attitudes, there are many factors that influence both equality of opportunity and equality of outcomes. But if we are intentional about creating space for others at the table, and making sure people are seen and their voices are heard, we can fight for — and effect change — together. We belong here.

James West, CEO Globe Derivative Exchange James West is a man who likes numbers, preferably lots of them. His PhD is in Biostatistics and at one stage he was also an ergodic theory researcher. For reference this is the definition of ergodic mathematics: relating to or denoting systems or processes with the property that, given sufficient time, they include or impinge on all points in a given space and can be represented statistically by a reasonably large selection of points. I rest my case. Although West explains ergodic dynamic systems using doughnuts because doughnuts are more interesting than regular planes as fundamentally there’s a hole in a doughnut. When asked if it mattered if it was cream filled or chocolate covered the answer was no, neither made a difference, although usually the math department preferred chocolate filled. For a time, West was also an entrepreneur in residence which was much more than just about numbers. He was employed by a VC to come up with business ideas in an incubator-like environment with 100 other like minded people. “It was like being in college, only being paid for it,” suggests West. To find out more, please to this very discursive and interesting podcast. You host is Jillian Godsil

On this Podcast, Diana Paiva is joined by author and multi-media creator, Melanie Ho. She talks about her book Beyond Leaning: Gender Equity and What Organizations Are up Against, a new kind of novel to spark discussion and change. Melanie Ho talks about the reason she decided to write about this subject and the problems and solutions for gender equity in society. She also explained how arts can help gender equity at work. Melanie Ho is the author of BEYOND LEANING IN: GENDER EQUITY AND WHAT ORGANIZATIONS ARE UP AGAINST, a silver medalist in the 2022 Axiom Awards recognizing the world’s best business books.  She speaks, facilitates workshops, and consults on a variety of topics, including women in leadership; diversity, equity, and inclusion; the future of education; and the use of creativity and the arts in business.  Formerly SVP at education technology and consulting firm EAB Global, Melanie now works with organizations ranging from small start-ups to multi-billion-dollar global conglomerates to leading universities. She started her career teaching literature, leadership, and visual culture at UCLA, where she received her PhD in English. About Diana Paiva Diana is currently interning with Irish Tech News. She graduated from Birkbeck University, with a degree in modern languages and she is currently doing a master’s in Journalism at the University of Roehampton. She has an interest in technology, fashion, and the environment. Starting her master’s in journalism made her realise that she has a passion to report and write people’s stories. After graduation, her main priority is to find a job in communications or public relations. Diana Paiva is active on social media platforms, including Twitter, and LinkedIn.

With remote working now part of daily lives, the technology to do this has become more sophisticated. Logicalis is one of the companies providing the technology to enable seamless remote working. Their Intelligent Connectivity solution is empowering customers and enabling connectivity by supporting agility, scalability, security, and sustainability. Ronan talks to Robert Price, Digital Infrastructure Practice Director for Logicalis about this and more. Robert talks about his background, what Logicalis does, the Logicalis’ Intelligent Connectivity solution, software defined solution’s, AI ops, the pandemic, and some of the current mega trends. Robert also talks about the cloud, IT as an industry, the role logically plays in remote working, what we will see in the next thirty years, and IOT devices. More about Logicalis: Logicalis is an international solutions provider of digital services currently accelerating the digital transformation of its 10,000 customers around the world. Through a globally connected network of specialist hubs, sector-leading experts in education, financial services, government, healthcare, manufacturing, professional services, retail and telecommunications. As well as strategic partnerships including Cisco, Microsoft, HPE, IBM, NetApp, Oracle, ServiceNow, and VMware.

ITN's Henry Fox interviews Droom and ShopClues CEO Sandeep Aggarwal, one of India's most successful entrepreneurs, about his business, e-commerce in India, and expansion into the modern day. We go into the future of his company, and what he imagines life to be like in the metaverse. Bios: Sandeep Aggarwal is a serial entrepreneur and a self-described pioneer in the field of the manufacturing and supply chain industry. Sandeep is an investor in cryptocurrency and a blockchain enthusiast. He is the CEO of Logix Coin, an upcoming cryptocurrency, and has channelled his over 20 years of experience as a business owner and director into his current work. Henry Fox is a freelance journalist and student at Coventry University in the UK, currently interning at Irish Tech News. Originally hailing from Limerick, Henry has a passion for all things nerdy, from emerging computer technology to cult movies.

Caroline Hughes is the CEO and co-founder of Lifetise, a Web 3 consumer fintech in the metaverse where people can plan and visualize their goals.  She is a Tech lawyer by training.  She an activator in SheEO, a global community of radically generous women transforming the way we fund, support and celebrate women-led Ventures working on purposeful business ventures.  She is also included in the Crypto Goddess and God community (CG) of 1,000 thought leaders across finance, fintech and web3 featured in 1 of 1 rare portrait NFTs.  Caroline Hughes -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-hughes-46494915/ Lifetise - https://lifetise.com/ SheEO - https://sheeo.world/ CG Pantheon NFT: https://magiceden.io/marketplace/cgpantheon?activeTab=auctions Caroline Hughes Goddess NFT : https://magiceden.io/item-details/EUdN66kc74D8jkqng2EPtFW95ipVrSK9gHB51x2Bk5QK?name=Caroline-Hughes-%23162 Dr. Efi Pylarinou is the No.1 Global Woman Influencer in Finance & the Data conversation by Refinitiv, a Top Thought Leader by Onalytica, and a Top Digital Futurist, Linkedin and Twitter Voice, by Engatica. A seasoned Wall Street professional & a recognized technology thought leader on innovation topics. Founder of Efi Pylarinou Advisory servicing Big Tech, Financial Services and Fintech clients. She strongly believes in building bridges between the old and the new economy. She shares her passion of content creation with her 190,000+ followers on Linkedin and 18,000+ on Twitter.  Join her on the social platforms https://linktr.ee/Efiglobal Listen to more podcasts here.

According to a recent staff memo circulating across social media, Elon Musk recently made his stance on hybrid working clear, demanding the end of remote working for all Tesla employees or else they would face termination. As employees make decisions to return to the office there has been global concern that the gender imbalance will be stretched further.  The permanent switch to more home working following the pandemic will cause an increase in inclusivity issues within the workplace, according to experts, unless employers carefully monitor their new working policies to make sure everyone’s performance is recognised equally regardless of whether they work from the office or not. There is a fear that those who receive more “face time” with management will benefit from more recognition and preferential treatment. Ronan talks to Aislinn Mahon, General Manager of Huckletree D2 about this and more. Aislinn talks about her background, Elon Musk’s stance on hybrid working, the positives of co-working spaces, Zoom meetings, mental health and meditation. Aislinn also talks about the different types of companies based in Huckltree, the help companies can get in co-working spaces, and the best strategy that works for companies. More about Aislinn: Aislinn is expert in new market entry and identifying new opportunities for strategic growth, and helped launch Huckletree in Ireland in 2017. She's also deeply passionate about the practice and teaching of yoga. Superpower: Building inner confidence.

2022 has been an eventful year, to say the least. From positive gains in financial inclusion, to crypto winter and the Metaverse, much is evolving. What will be the new players in the emerging Web3 ecosystem as we continue to iterate? And what role will traditional finance play? In this episode of One Vision, we chat with Lex Sokolin, Head Economist at ConsenSys, about what’s next for fintech innovation, cryptocurrency, and regulations, as he moves with the edge of the world.

The Future City ESG Innovation Index The newly developed deep ecosystems have provided a thorough analysis of the capabilities of cities and their innovation ecosystems to capture the immense economic opportunity from the future demand for solutions in the ESG sectors worldwide. The report reveals a total of $60bn being invested in ESG focused start-ups across over 100 cities since 2018. ESG solutions included, are those that will likely see a surge in demand in the future, when the transition to a more green and sustainable economy accelerates. It includes solutions for ecology, waste management and clean energy in the environment sector, health, and education solutions in the social ESG sector and e-government, public transport, and smart city solutions in the governance related ESG sector. With all the potential of creating a more green and sustainable future, Erica Santini discusses the aim of the deep ecosystem, sustainability valley’s effect on the public and more. Dr Erica Santini- Head of Research deep and Professor of University Trento