Inspirefest named among ‘coolest’ must-see events for 2019


25 Jan 2019

From left: Taylor Denise Richardson, Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, Ann O’Dea, Prof Louise Kenny, Raju Narisetti and Lesley Tully at Inspirefest 2018. Image: Conor McCabe Photography

The Dublin sci-tech event with diversity and inclusion at its core is a recommended booking for entrepreneurs and more.

Whitehall Resources, an IT recruitment specialist, has compiled a list of the 10 coolest events for developers and IT entrepreneurs in 2019, and Silicon Republic’s own Inspirefest is among them.

The UK and Germany-based company has selected unique events from around the world for its shortlist, from Sweden’s largest developer conference, Jfokus; to That Conference, held in one of the US’s largest indoor waterparks; and the early-stage start-up Pirate Summit in Cologne, Germany.

Inspirefest is the only Irish event on the list, attracting attention for its unique blend of technology, science, design and arts, and its “legendary Fringe Festival with live music, comedy, delicious food, craft beer in an unmatched networking environment”.

“In a nutshell, a conference for the brightest minds,” claimed Whitehall Resources.

Meanwhile, closer to home, UK start-up community Startacus has published its key start-up and tech-focused events in the UK and Ireland this year, with Inspirefest noted as the place to be “to hear from over 60 of the greatest minds on key trends in science and technology, from blockchain to AI, medtech to biodiversity, future of work to augmented reality”.

Taking place on 16 and 17 May 2019 in the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in Dublin, Inspirefest 2019 will welcome global media innovators from CNN to RTÉ to the stage, as well as recent TED stars Mark Pollock and Simone George. This summer, they will discuss how they connected with San Francisco-based engineering company Ekso Bionics, which created a robotic exoskeleton that would allow Pollock to stand – a story not to be missed.

Earlier today (25 January), Silicon Republic CEO and Inspirefest founder Ann O’Dea hosted an hour-long taste of Inspirefest at the Startup Impact Summit in Hong Kong, following a week of visiting talks and events with Hong Kong’s sci-tech community. The Inspirefest hour in association with Hays featured Richard Zeng from Mojia along with a flute-playing robot, and discussion on diversity with Ann Cathrin Riedel from Load EV.

Inspirefest is Silicon Republic’s international event celebrating the point where science, technology and the arts collide. Early Bird tickets for Inspirefest 2019 are available now.