Abstract

Gifted Techspectations is the first of a series of reports based on research by the DCU Leadership, Innovation and Knowledge Research Centre (LInK) based in DCU Business School. With its roots in an Irish business school, it is no surprise that LInK’s mission is to strengthen the competitiveness, productivity, innovation and entrepreneurial capacity of the Irish economy. Ireland’s next generation transformation will be enabled by information and communication technologies (ICT) and digital participation by members of Irish society. As a university research centre we have an important role to play in supporting education, industry and government to accelerate this transformation. With support from DCU Business School, Enterprise Ireland’s Innovation Voucher Programme, DCU’s Learning Innovation Unit, Cambridge University Press and the Nominet Foundation amongst others, LInK has undertaken a wide variety of activities to accelerate digital participation. These include applied research projects, seminar programmes, workshops and occasional research papers. In the last twelve months, 22 seminars, 5 workshops, and two 3-week courses have been held and over 200 Irish businesses and schools have benefited from LInK-related digital participation activities. Influenced by the US ECAR and Pew Internet and American Life projects, these digital participation activities were brought together under the Techspectations initiative in June 2010. The objective of Techspectations is to create both a body of research and analysis on ICT usage and expectations by Irish society and an interface for Irish education, industry and government institutions.