Pandemic Showed Us Value of University-Enterprise Cooperation, Now Let’s Build on That
7th October, 2021: Taoiseach Michael Martin today opened the inaugural Convene Enterprise Forum at the Technological University Dublin, a collaboration that seeks to transform university-enterprise engagement for the benefit of Irish society and the economy. The event brought together a panel of enterprise and higher education leaders to discuss lessons learned from the pandemic; how to collectively deliver the priority skills and innovation necessary to reinvigorate business; and how to support a resilient and enduring economic recovery in the wake of the unprecedented disruption caused by COVID-19.
The panel, moderated by journalist Eileen Dunne, included Michael Horgan, Chairperson, Higher Education Authority; Brid Horan, Chancellor, DCU; Dr. Andrea Johnson, Vice President, WorkHuman; and Jerry O’Sullivan, Deputy Chief Executive, ESB.
Convene’s inaugural Enterprise Forum combined many of the key ingredients for Ireland to distinguish itself as an innovation leader, succeed in the fourth industrial revolution and rebound after the pandemic: enterprise, government and academia working together to anticipate, understand and respond to emerging needs.
Coming just days before the government announced its next budget and amidst growing discourse on threats to Ireland’s energy supply, the Convene Enterprise Forum addressed:
How universities and enterprise can work together in our volatile and complex world to ensure individuals and organisations are prepared to meet the challenges of the future when they arrive.
How adaptability has shown itself to be a critical success factor during periods of transformation such as we have lived through.
How the COVID-19 crisis challenged some existing norms and barriers such as remote work but that we must ensure we ‘build back better’ and not allow new inequalities creep into the workplace.
About the Convene Enterprise Forum:
The Convene Enterprise Forum is a quarterly event series that serves as a shared space for exchange and discussion between enterprise, higher education, policymakers and others. Events are free to attend and will take place online and in person. The Convene Enterprise Forum seeks to bring enterprise and higher education closer together, find common ground and generate new ideas. Future events will cover topics such as how we support the development of transversal skills, Global Ireland and climate action, as well as major challenges specific to the seven major employment sectors that form part of Convene: Tourism, Food & Drink, Creative and Cultural, Social Enterprise, ICT/FinTech, MedTech and Pharma.