Despite the success of digitalisation at a national level, regional inequalities in digitalisation are well established. There are many exciting policy initiatives to address this in Ireland, including the National Broadband Programme, Connected Hubs, and the European Digital Innovation Hub. However, regional imbalance is persistent and outward migration leads to slower population growth than other areas. This is specifically true for the West and Northwest, considered a region of moderate innovation or a lagging region.

While policy argues that digitalisation is essential to tackle regional imbalance, the evidence of its efficacy is scant. In fact, the literature highlights concern that urban areas may benefit disproportionately from the production and delivery of digitalised services (Hansen, 2021). Furthermore, while digitalisation can help traditional industries, a digital divide may exist between foundational and non-foundational businesses, and the industries that rural communities rely on may suffer due to digitalisation (Reynolds et al).

The potential impact of digital technologies on less developed regions is an open question. Therefore, this study examines how effective digitalisation is as a tool for balanced regional development in Ireland by examining its impact on the specific industries targeted in Ireland's regional development plans for the North West.

While the information and communication technology (ICT) sector has seen recent developments and innovations (Matthews and Whiting 2022), the problem of  insufficient representation of women in leadership positions globally within the ICT industry still exists (Ryan et al. 2021). CSO (2024) figures indicate that women occupy only 22% of the leadership positions in technology globally. However, this difference is more pronounced in particular regions, including Ireland where women are just 19% of the workforce in ICT roles and only 9% of them occupy senior leadership positions (World Economic Forum 2023).

This research examines women (and the lack of women!) in leadership roles in multinational (MNC) and small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in the ICT sector in the West and Northwest region of Ireland to better understand the barriers to their career progression and support them in advancing to senior leadership positions. Globally, women have less access to employment, less equal pay, fewer advancement opportunities, and less of a sense of empowerment in the workplace (Catalyst, 2021) with organisational and structural barriers facing them (Annabi and Lebovitz, 2018). Annabi (2023) further found that while women develop coping mechanisms to deal with barriers, the IT workplace, in particular, inflicts harm on women, and it is time to address the barriers women face in the IT industry to minimise attrition and support their career advancement.

Addressing barriers is especially important to build diverse workplaces for economic, equity and inclusivity, and moral reasons, and it requires a better understanding of barriers for women in STEM (Trauth & Quesenberry, 2023). This research therefore examines both the challenges and barriers that women face in achieving leadership positions in the ICT industry and start-up/accelerator innovation space and examines motivations for women to seek (or not to seek!) leadership positions. We aim to develop best practice recommendations and solutions for how to support women taking on leadership roles in these sectors.

There has been a marked increase in remote working since the Covid-19 pandemic (McKinsey Global Institute, 2023). Ireland’s National Remote Work Strategy ‘Making Remote Work’ aims to maximise economic, social and environmental benefits of remote working and the Regional Enterprise Plans identify remote working as potentially transformative for the West and North-West regions.

Despite limited available research, there is emerging evidence of challenges for employee connectedness, collaboration and organisational productivity in remote working (Adisa et al., 2023; Yang et al., 2021). Our own research identifies opportunities and potential benefits of remote working, with digital transformation a key enabler (McTaggart & McLaughlin, In Press). Digitalisation and innovation of remote working provides a platform to realise the transformative potential of remote working.

This project investigates remote working for employee connectedness, collaboration and organisational productivity, with particular focus on digitalisation. Through enterprise partnership with Collins McNicholas, a national recruitment and services group, the research will develop the enterprise ecosystem and human capital in the West and North-West regions, enhancing employee skills and driving enterprise growth. This delivers against strategic objectives of the West and North-West Regional Enterprise Plans, Ireland’s strategic priority of digitalisation and digital transformation (‘Harnessing Digital – The Digital Ireland Framework’) and the DRCD strategy, ‘Our Rural Future’.

This research will evaluate the impact of remote working on employee connectedness, collaboration and productivity; identify barriers and opportunities for remote working; investigate the impact digital transformation; and develop and evaluate responsible AI-enabled digital technologies to promote employee connectedness, collaboration and productivity.

It is now accepted among policymakers that for entrepreneurs, to be successful, there needs to be a conducive ecosystem. Within the literature there has been a limited focus on the interactions and relationships between key domains/elements/actors within ecosystems. Although conceptual advancement has been extensive, empirical studies fall short of examining many of the dynamic processes central to the development of ecosystems. We cannot assume that entrepreneurial ecosystems that make up ATU’s hinterland are the same or can be understood using a standard framework. Each ecosystem will have a different system of interactions and relationships between stakeholders (Stephens et al., 2022). This PhD will use the work of Isenberg (2010) and a Stephens et al., (2022) to frame a study of ecosystems in Ireland.

The PhD will include: 1) A systematic literature review; 2) 3/5 case study ecosystems based on two stages of interviews, with key stakeholders; and an industry Case Study to test the emergent findings/framework in real-time, in a real-world setting (as part of the placement). Tackling the weakest elements of entrepreneurial ecosystems is likely to provide the most efficient and effective way of improving the overall quality of the entrepreneurial ecosystems that exist within ATU’s hinterland (Ács et al., 2014; Round et al., 2017). The PhD project responds to significant gaps in the emergent literature. The overall aim is to: Explore the functioning of entrepreneurial ecosystems and how to sustainably resource our ecosystems. The key outcome will be the development of appropriate best practice for the design and management of entrepreneurial ecosystems with theoretical, managerial and policy implications.

This research project aims to address challenges within the freight transport sector (FTS) focusing on fragmented and proprietary data points and information systems in the FTS itself, by identifying information technology solutions that can utilize available big data to create a collaborative framework.

There is an increasing abundance of data generated throughout supply chains and collected by operators at various points in forms of tracking information (locations of carriers or goods, etc.), inventory details of goods on the move or at storage as well as information on routes (origins, destinations, etc.).

Recent technological advances such as big data analytics (BDA), sensor technologies, distributed ledger technologies, and advanced modelling to improve utilization of data will be assessed with the goal of strengthening connectivity, enhancing traceability, promoting sustainability, and increasing accountability within regional freight transport systems.

Expectation from these solutions will be to gain competitive advantage for the region via better connectivity of regional FTS and improved sustainability of operations.

Social enterprises are honoured for their contribution to the social and economic goals, which places an emphasis on smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth as the foundation of a sustainable social market economy. The significance of SEs as a crucial component of the European social model, which via its social innovation will give answers to meet societal difficulties and will assist member states to overcome times of crisis, has long been recognised throughout Europe, it also highlighted is the competitive edge SEs enjoy in the market as a promising long-term investment option because profits are returned back into the company (Borzaga et al., 2020).

There is a significant research gap around how the entrepreneurial ecosystem can aid social enterprises and how this can aid the development of innovative business models to also grow social enterprises. Much of the research currently focuses on impact social enterprises have on society (Choi, Lee, and Hur (2021) or on their local communities and if they are achieving their intended goals Liston-Heyes and Liu (2021). Many studies have focused on the supports received and relationships with Government (Choi and Park, 2021).

Key focus of this study would review how social entrepreneurship contribute to addressing environmental challenges and promoting sustainable development. Understand what are the elements of the entrepreneurial ecosystem that can positively impact the success of social entrepreneurship?   This study aims to develop a framework for socio-economic development in remote regions.

Marketing is firmly in the era of influencer marketing. If done correctly, influencer marketing has valuable implications for a company. Research has illustrated the positive association between influencer posts and brand awareness and credibility. Thus, influencers do ‘influence’ consumer perceptions of brands (De Jans et al., 2020). The parasocial interactions between an influencer and their audience have the potential to enhance customer loyalty among the influencers audience and enhance the effect of sponsored content (Ledbetter and Meisner, 2021).

Despite the rise of influencer marketing, research is in early stages, with a scarcity of studies assessing the impact of influencers on consumer behaviour, particularly in terms of sustainable consumer behaviour (De Vierman and Hudders, 2020; Pick, 2021) Within one year, the global fast fashion market is predicted to grow by approximately 15% (Prnewswire. com, 2023). 7% of the total amount of waste in global landfill space is constituted by clothing and textiles. In terms of circularity, 20% of discarded textiles are collected, and 1% of clothes are recycled into new garments (TheRoundUp.org, 2023). There is a need to better understand the mechanisms of this influence so that sustainable consumption choices and a circular economy can be better promoted.

This mixed-methods study explores how older adults experience social exclusion, and how digitalisation and technological interventions (e.g. smart phones, wearable and connected medical devices) can mitigate against or compound health outcomes for people experiencing multi-dimensional social exclusion. Social exclusion amongst older people is recognised as a major population health concern. It is associated with chronic health conditions such as depression, cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease and early mortality. Despite this, our knowledge of determinants that construct and ameliorate exclusion, and their ultimate impact on older adult health, remains underdeveloped for older populations, particularly for those on the margins of society e.g homeless, Travellers, persons with disabilities. Identifying wearable and connected health and fitness devices that impact multi-dimensional social exclusion, could potentially improve the health and wellbeing of various groups of older people while delivering cost-savings at a national and regional level.

The objectives of this project are to i) complete a scoping review examining the relationship between social exclusion, digitalisation and technological interventions; ii) Explore the relationship between availability and access to advanced technologies and social exclusion and its impact on health and well-being (qualitative analysis) and iii) develop, trial and deliver a training programme with the NIPC to guide the use of technologies in fostering independence and social relationships, ameliorate loneliness and promote better health among various groups in society.

This research project is aimed to address the fundamental challenges inherent to Irish MedTech small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in their digital transformation for operations/processes automation, ensuring trust, and competing in the global market. Although these SMEs stand as key drivers of innovation, they encounter significant challenges in terms of security and transparency within their supply chain management which further compromise patient safety, regulatory compliance, and prevention of counterfeit MedTech products. In this context, the goal of this project is to investigate the underlying working mechanisms of supply chain management in Irish MedTech SMEs and develop a robust and trustworthy framework through the synergy of blockchain and digital twin technologies for improved automation, traceability, and transparency in MedTech supply chains.

The blockchain ensures data integrity and transparency through its immutability and provenance features and the digital twin provides the opportunity for real-time processes and supply chain operation simulations, predictive modelling, and proactive decision-making. Furthermore, the proposed framework will be implemented and evaluated in real-world settings through industrial collaboration with project partners like ServBlock, etc., for prototyping and commercialization in the future. By advancing supply chain security and transparency, this research positions Irish MedTech SMEs for global competitiveness aligned with Ireland’s vision of Innovation, Digitization, Enterprise, and Society (IDEAS) research initiative aimed at digital innovation and contributing to regional economic growth, particularly in the North-West. The project’s outcomes will create lasting economic, societal, and technological impacts, propelling SMEs toward a more secure, digital, and efficient future.

National policies oblige tourism enterprises to embrace sustainable operations and make positive climate actions to ensure Net-Zero decarbonisation targets are achieved. To this end, state and commercial actors support hotels to embrace a ‘measure and manage’ approach to carbon management to achieve same.

While aspirations to address UN SDGs may prevail, hotels often lack the resources and tacit knowledge to effect positive changes. For example, they may not know how to access and interpret data. Equally hotels may feel overwhelmed at the range of decarbonisation information and support available to them, especially if the sources of knowledge are unknown to them.

To overcome such operational deficiencies, research contends that communities of practice (CoPs) can act as enablers of the transfer and absorption of sustainable knowledge. Here members benefit from trusted sources of explicit and tacit knowledge to address acknowledged operational challenges and shared learnings between peer groups encourages realised absorption of knowledge.

The aims of this research are to identify effective structures and content for a digitalised hospitality decarbonisation roadmap, based on recommend appropriate CoP structures to encourage mutual support and shared learnings. This will be achieved by identifying contextual enablers and barriers of realised absorptive capacity within the CoPs and thereby ensure each participating hotel can design and effectively measure impacts of interventions on the hotels carbon footprint.

The Northern and Western Region (NWR) of Ireland holds a promising landscape for the MedTech sector, characterised by a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem, a strong academic foundation, and a growing number of incubators, accelerators, focused entrepreneurship programmes (e.g., ATU’s iHubs, Platform 94, Scale-X accelerator, BioInnovate, Bioexcel), research centres (e.g., CÚRAM), technology gateways (e.g., MET). These specialised organisations have the potential to become transformative agents within regional entrepreneurial ecosystems, having the ability to foster innovation, collaborations, market access, and knowledge exchange. However, despite this potential, these organisations often operate in isolation, lacking coordination and alignment. This fragmentation hinders the emergence of a cohesive regional innovation system. Particularly in geographically dispersed regions like the NWR, where infrastructure challenges can deter collaboration and the exchange of information, digital leadership, and specialised tools can enhance connectivity, collaboration and alignment among various stakeholders. This research project aims to explore the role and impact of these specialised organisations in leading, orchestrating, shaping, This research project aims to explore the role and impact of these specialised organisations in leading, orchestrating, shaping, and developing the MedTech entrepreneurial ecosystems in the NWR, with a focus on digital innovation.  

The research project will aim to:

• conduct a comprehensive assessment of the region's MedTech entrepreneurship landscape to identify current strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and opportunities.
• map the existing entrepreneurship incubators and accelerators, research centres, technology gateways, entrepreneurship programmes etc. in the region.
• explore the potential of digital solutions to encourage networking, collaboration, knowledge sharing, mentorship and partnerships across the various stakeholders of the ecosystem.
• formulate policy recommendations to create a strong (digital) infrastructure that supports a truly collaborative innovation corridor, allowing the MedTech sector in the NWR to maintain its competitive edge.

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