THE SMART economy will not come from science and technology alone, experts debating the subject agreed during the first day of the 2010 Innovation Dublin festival.
The discussion, asking “What’s so smart about Ireland’s smart economy in 2010?”, took place on Wednesday night as part of an 11- day festival of innovation. This debate was organised by the Royal Irish Academy and The Irish Times.
“The kinds of business which are successful and will be successful in the future have to be far more diverse,” said John Fitzgerald, research professor at the ESRI.
“It’s also about trying to create a culture where people think it’s fun to talk about what they’re doing, and to talk about ideas.”
Panellists had been invited to give their definition of the smart economy by Irish Times science editor Dick Ahlstrom, who chaired the discussion.
Seán O’Driscoll, chief executive of Glen Dimplex, expressed a dislike of the term, but said he believed it to be about doing things better and for less than before.
“For me it’s about inventiveness, it’s about doing things better and doing things more efficiently,” O’Driscoll said.
“There are very few ‘eurekas’ around there but there are many evolutions around research and development and I feel that’s a vital part of it.”
Brian Kelly, chief executive of Celtic Catalysts, agreed and said there was a need to create public interest around innovation, and the media had a part to play in this.
“There are lots of good Irish examples of innovation – it comes back to engagement with the public and getting people enthusiastic,” he said.
“People involved in high tech have an obligation to go and communicate what the benefit of it is.”
On the issue of Government investment and support, Fitzgerald said he was concerned about proposed changes which, he added, may reduce their impact significantly.
“There is a move to put all research under Science Foundation Ireland and make it for business, which means that we’re going to get lousy research and not get value for money,” he said.
The Innovation Dublin festival continued last night with a debate on the report of the Government’s Innovation Taskforce.
Events are scheduled to take place each day until Sunday, November 21st.
One of the biggest is the Global Forum Dublin, which opens in the Convention Centre next Wednesday.
The forum is an international organisation that tries to foster sustainable innovation in big cities and has been invited to Ireland by Dublin City Council and the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.
