• Estimated 1,500 delegates to generate up to €2m to local economy

Limerick headquartered Lero - the Irish Software Research Centre, has helped Ireland win a prestigious international technology conference. Ireland beat off stiff competition to host the 37th International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS), which will take place in the Convention Centre, Dublin in December 2016. An estimated 1,500 global delegates and their partners are expected to generate up to €2m to the local economy.

Pictured with Molly Malone were (from left) Professor Brian Fitzgerald of Lero – the Irish Software Research Centre and Professor John Mooney of Pepperdine University, California. Photo: John T Ohle

“Bidding to host the ICIS conference is very competitive and Dublin won out against Munich, Vienna and Istanbul,” commented Professor Brian Fitzgerald of Lero – the Irish Software Research Centre who chaired the Dublin bid with Professor John Mooney of Pepperdine University, California. The bids were presented recently at a meeting in Orlando, Florida.

“This is a significant coup for Dublin and reflects Ireland’s growing reputation as a global technology centre,” added Professor Fitzgerald.

Running since 1980, ICIS is the premier conference of the Association for Information Systems, which has more than 4,000 members in 95 countries and is the leading professional society for Information Systems academics. The theme of the conference is “Digital Innovation at the Crossroads”.

“Eamon De Valera, famously referred to the traditional Irish melting-pot of the crossroads, where Irish people gathered to converse, reflect, empathise, and celebrate, thereby bringing disparate groups together,” added Professor Mooney. “The Information Systems academic discipline finds itself at several ‘crossroads’ as different past influences converge.”

He referred in particular to the convergence of academe and industry; enterprise and consumer technologies; different geographic regions and research traditions; open versus proprietary modes of publication and economic and social responsibilities.

“ICIS 2016 will be a timely opportunity to review the technology implications of these metaphorical ‘crossroads’.”

The conference is supported by Science Foundation Ireland and Fáilte Ireland, as well as by leading companies in the IT sector such as Intel, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Realex Payments and SOS Ventures.