Futura Innovation Conference unfolds across three days in Limerick, designed as a connected, city-wide experience.
The schedule brings together sessions, meetings, and gatherings across multiple venues, creating a flow that encourages movement, interaction, and meaningful engagement. Participants move through a connected environment where conversations extend beyond each session
From morning discussions to evening receptions, each part of the programme is designed to connect people, perspectives, and opportunities, helping you engage with the full breadth of the experience.
- 19th October 2026
- 20th October 2026
- 21st October 2026
19th October 2026
12:00 PM
Registration & Badge Pick Up
Please bring your confirmation email with the QR code or a valid photo ID to collect your conference badge.
Mon 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Registration
3:30 PM
Conference Welcome & Opening Remarks
Join us as we officially open the conference with welcoming remarks and an introduction to the exciting program ahead. Speakers will be announced soon.
Mon 3:30 PM - 4:00 PM
4:00 PM
Opening Session
The Strand- Shannon Suite
Kick off the conference with an engaging opening session designed to inspire, spark new ideas and set the stage for the conversations ahead. Speakers will be announced soon.
Mon 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
5:00 PM
The Human Part (Presented by Civitas)
The Old Quarter Pub & Townhouse
An evening of genuine connection over beverages and nosh, hosted by Civitas. A drop-in evening event at the Old Quarter Townhouse in Limerick , where a pint and a slice of pizza are included for every participant. The format is drawn from Peter Block's Six Conversations methodology: small tables of three to four people, one question card, and no agenda beyond the quality of what gets said. Come for twenty minutes or stay for the full two hours, the event runs continuously, accommodates arrivals at any point. No pitch, no networking theatre, just an honest question and the people willing to answer it.
Mon 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Opening Reception
20th October 2026
7:30 AM
Run/Walk the Three Bridges
Wake up, get moving, and experience the charm of Limerick like a local. Join fellow conference attendees each morning for a refreshing run or brisk walk along the iconic Three Bridges route—an energizing way to kick off your day.
Tue 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM
Experiential
8:00 AM
Registration & Badge Pick Up
Please bring your confirmation email with the QR code or a valid photo ID to collect your conference badge.
Tue 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Registration
Mindfulness for Modern Well‑Being
The Old Quarter Pub & Townhouse
Workshop exploring neuroscience‑backed mindfulness for everyday life. A session designed to bring together seasoned practitioners and curious beginners alike, guided by the founder of Oxford’s Mindfulness in Business program. Participants explore the neuroscience behind habits that support human flourishing while experiencing practical techniques that strengthen presence, clarity, and emotional resilience.
Speaker:
Tue 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Experiential
9:30 AM
The Business of Immersive: Where Immersive Technologies Adds Value Across Industry
Immersive technologies are increasingly moving beyond research and experimentation to deliver measurable value across a growing range of sectors. This session brings together leaders deploying the technology across defence, industry and culture to examine how organisations adopt XR, prove return on investment, and build the case for wider rollout. Drawing on business cases, panellists will discuss what drives adoption, which sectors are moving fastest, and how AI, virtual worlds, spatial computing and mixed reality are opening new uses across industries while examining where Ireland sits in the European market, and what it takes to move from strong R&D to companies that scale to reach global markets.
Speakers:
Camille Donegan, Ilona Vanaga, Niall Campion, Guillaume Auvray, Daniel Staines
Tue 9:30 AM - 10:15 AM
Culture, Media and Entertainment
MedTech & Life Sciences Meetup
Connect with innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers, healthcare leaders, and industry professionals exploring the future of MedTech, biotech, pharmaceuticals, and life sciences. This informal Meetup brings together like-minded attendees to exchange ideas around personalised medicine, synthetic biology, artificial intelligence, molecular diagnostics, advanced clinical trials, wearable technology, and data-driven healthcare.
Tue 9:30 AM - 10:15 AM
MedTech and Life Sciences, Meetup
Emotional Intelligence + AI
The Old Quarter Pub & Townhouse
Workshop for improving self-awareness and tech fluency preparing people for modern collaboration and leadership. The understanding of emotional intelligence strengthens self awareness, communication and trust. This workshop helps us to understand how human judgment and emerging technologies can work together to improve decision-making, reduce bias, and support more responsive, community-centered governance.
Speaker:
Tue 9:30 AM - 10:15 AM
Human by Design: Creativity and Technology
How is technology changing what artists and creative organisations can make, and what does this mean for human creativity and artistic control? Bringing perspectives from Northern Ireland’s creative and technology sectors, this panel will explore how interactive and emerging technologies are expanding creative practice, while also considering the choices and challenges they introduce. The discussion will consider audience participation, future skills, ownership and recognition, wider applications, and opportunities to build on creative and technological strengths across the island of Ireland.
Speakers:
Gwen Stevenson, Brendan Lowry, Eion McFadden, Matthew Malcolm
Tue 9:30 AM - 10:15 AM
Culture, Media and Entertainment
10:15 AM
Break
Break - Sessions will resume in 30 minutes.
Tue 10:15 AM - 10:45 AM
10:45 AM
The Paradox of Expertise
The most experienced people in any room are often the ones least equipped to question their own assumptions. It's what expertise does over time.
Emmy Award-winning storyteller and bestselling author Lauren Ready draws on two decades of journalism, documentary filmmaking, and leadership development to show how certainty becomes the hidden cost of success and what to do about it.
Using her proprietary Question Lens™ Method, participants leave with practical tools for asking better questions across sectors, disciplines, and the assumptions they didn't know they were making. The result is a room full of innovators who can actually think across the expertise they came in with.
Speaker:
Tue 10:45 AM - 11:30 AM
Culture, Media and Entertainment
Enterprise Meetup
Connect with business leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, and technology professionals exploring how organisations are adapting to a rapidly changing financial and digital landscape.This informal Meetup brings together like-minded attendees to exchange ideas around organisational resilience, financial technology, AI-powered fraud prevention, secure cloud architecture, automated compliance (RegTech), and the move beyond legacy systems.
Host:
Tue 10:45 AM - 11:30 AM
Enterprise, Meetup
What Does 10 Billion People Actually Eat? (Presented by Boyne Valley Food Innovation District)
The Old Quarter Pub & Townhouse
A global conversation on how we feed ten billion people while balancing food security, climate resilience, commercial viability, sustainability and technological change.
Speaker:
Tue 10:45 AM - 11:30 AM
AgTech and Sustainability
R&D Without an R&D Department: Fractional R&D in Canada
Small companies often have ideas worth commercializing but lack an in-house R&D team, specialized equipment, or a clear path from prototype to market. Canada’s Technology Access Centres fill that gap: a national network of publicly supported applied R&D and commercialization centres that offer affordable, on-demand access to researchers, equipment, testing, and objective advice, while firms retain the IP. Discover how this “fractional R&D” model de-risks technology adoption, accelerates commercialization and gives other regions a practical blueprint for turning more ideas into market-ready products.
Speaker:
Tue 10:45 AM - 11:30 AM
Startups
Reclaiming Privacy: Challenges, Demands, and the Digital Horizon
Every click leaves a trail, yet the privacy conversation often oscillates between helplessness and indifference. This interactive session confronts where we stand with our personal data. We’ll examine modern privacy challenges, audit where control was surrendered for convenience, and explore realistic ways to reel things back. With the EU actively attempting to tackle data rights through frameworks like GDPR and the AI Act, where does the individual truly stand? Moving beyond personal actions, attendees will debate what users should demand from companies and discuss how we can collectively reshape the future of digital privacy.
Speaker:
Tue 10:45 AM - 11:30 AM
Innovative Technologies
What If Our Innovation Ecosystem Was Truly Connected?
Innovation thrives when researchers, industry leaders, entrepreneurs, policymakers and communities work together. Yet too often, valuable knowledge, research outcomes and commercial opportunities remain disconnected.This interactive workshop will explore how stronger collaboration across these stakeholders can accelerate research commercialisation, drive entrepreneurship, support spin-out creation and deliver greater societal and economic impact. Participants will identify barriers that hinder knowledge transfer, share practical experiences, and examine opportunities for building more effective partnerships. Through discussion and collective insight, the session will highlight actionable strategies for strengthening innovation ecosystems, improving pathways from research to real-world application, and creating lasting value through cross-sector collaboration.
Speakers:
Tue 10:45 AM - 11:30 AM
Innovative Technologies
Energy, Compute, Capital: The AI Build-Out
AI's next bottleneck is not models, it is the layer beneath them: power, chips, and the capital to build both. David Yakobovitch, General Partner and Managing Director at DataPower Capital, draws on a portfolio spanning SpaceX, Cerebras, and Crusoe to map how the AI build-out is being funded in 2026: energy-first data centers, post-GPU compute, and the shift from venture cheques to infrastructure-scale capital. Expect a working investor's view of what gets funded, what gets built, and how ecosystems outside Silicon Valley, Ireland included, can plug in.
Speaker:
Tue 10:45 AM - 11:30 AM
Innovative Technologies
11:30 AM
Break
Break - Sessions will resume in 30 minutes.
Tue 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
12:00 PM
Reimagining Heritage: How Immersive Technologies are Transforming Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Place
Hunt Museum - The Captains Room
Heritage organisations are increasingly adopting XR, digital twins, projection mapping and immersive storytelling to bring places, collections and stories to life. This session explores how emerging technologies can create deeper visitor engagement, unlock new revenue opportunities and support the preservation and interpretation of cultural assets. The discussion will combine practical case studies from Ireland and beyond, exploring how digital experiences are being used to attract new audiences, enrich tourism offerings and create entirely new ways of engaging with heritage.
Moderator:
Speakers:
Tue 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM
Culture, Media and Entertainment
The Farm Was Just the Beginning (Presented by Boyne Valley Food Innovation District)
The Old Quarter Pub & Townhouse
From precision agriculture and novel proteins to robotics, processing, traceability and AI, this session explores how innovation across the
entire food value chain connects into one ecosystem.
Speaker:
Tue 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM
AgTech and Sustainability
Transport & Aerospace Meetup
Connect with innovators, entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and technology professionals exploring the future of transport, logistics, aviation, and aerospace. This informal Meetup brings together like-minded attendees to exchange ideas around autonomous transportation, smart ports, global logistics, sustainable aviation fuels, hybrid propulsion, satellite technology, and the infrastructure supporting increasingly connected supply chains.
Host:
Tue 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM
Meetup, Transport and Aerospace
In Your Face: Can AI and Smart Glasses Take Spatial Computing Mainstream?
After decades of business use, extended reality (XR) adoption remains uneven. Could convergence with AI and the familiar form of smart glasses change that? Drawing on global enterprise experience, Jeremy Dalton explores business applications, practical barriers and current consumer backlash against smart glasses, distinguishing established uses from emerging possibilities. The session includes a live demonstration of XRHQ, a continuously updated feed of real-world XR and AI applications accessible during and after the conference, giving attendees a resource to explore where these technologies are being put to work.
Speaker:
Tue 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM
Culture, Media and Entertainment
Building Your Personal Startup Brand and Network (Presented by TechTides)
As a founder, your story, reputation and relationships can be just as powerful as your product. Discover how to build a personal brand that creates credibility, attracts opportunity and connects you with the people who can help take your startup further.
Speakers:
Tue 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM
Startups
Beyond the Session
The Old Quarter Pub & Townhouse- Restaurant
Continue the conversation with Sophie Maclaren, Kathleen Yang- Clayton, and Chrystele Sanon. Ask follow-up questions, exchange ideas, and connect with other attendees in an informal setting.
Speakers:
Tue 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM
Meet the Speakers
Why Being Old-fashioned in Business is a Superpower
This will be an interactive session where we'll cover what "being old-fashioned" in business means and why it works (especially in, and delightfully contrary to, today's world). We'll tackle real-world examples of the concept in action (how to get tangible results like stickier customers, increased revenue, etc. - as well as make your business more sustainable and adaptable). And we'll also have time to workshop your own business's "old-fashioned" superpower together.
Speaker:
Tue 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM
Enterprise
Accelerating Innovative Air Mobility in Europe
Innovative Air Mobility is moving from trials towards real-world operations, but what will it take to accelerate this transition across Europe? This panel will explore three key challenges: how regulation and operational maturity can enable IAM to safely access and integrate into airspace; how we can address the skills gap and prepare the workforce for the new jobs and capabilities that IAM will create; and how we can build societal acceptance and readiness for new forms of air mobility.
The discussion will bring different perspectives on what needs to happen now to turn IAM into practical, scalable and sustainable services.
Speakers:
Tue 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM
Transport and Aerospace
Accelerating Innovative Air Mobility in Europe
Innovative Air Mobility is moving from trials towards real-world operations, but what will it take to accelerate this transition across Europe? This panel will explore three key challenges: how regulation and operational maturity can enable IAM to safely access and integrate into airspace; how we can address the skills gap and prepare the workforce for the new jobs and capabilities that IAM will create; and how we can build societal acceptance and readiness for new forms of air mobility.
The discussion will bring different perspectives on what needs to happen now to turn IAM into practical, scalable and sustainable services.
Speakers:
Tue 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM
Transport and Aerospace
12:45 PM
Lunch Break
Grab some food and drink at local restaurants.
Tue 12:45 PM - 1:30 PM
1:30 PM
You Don't Need a Rocket to Build in Space
The next generation of Space companies won't all build rockets or satellites. Entrepreneurs in AI, robotics, data, health, manufacturing, cybersecurity and countless other industries are finding opportunities in the rapidly expanding Space economy. This fireside chat explores where those opportunities are emerging, what Space investors are looking for, and how entrepreneurs in Ireland and around the world can become part of this new growing economy.
Speakers:
Tue 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM
Transport and Aerospace
What Counts as Attention?
Digital communication is no longer simply a contest for reach. Audiences are fragmented across platforms, privacy expectations are changing, measurement signals are disappearing and creators and organizations are trying to build relationships they can sustain. But what actually counts as attention? How do we know when it leads to understanding, trust, engagement or action? In this conversational session, Beth Egan and Sean Branagan explore what effective communication looks like now—and what it may require next—from evidence, trust, and audience data to entrepreneurship, community, and the creator economy.
Speakers:
Tue 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM
Culture, Media and Entertainment
Why Do Some Places Become “the Place”? (Presented by Boyne Valley Food Innovation District)
The Old Quarter Pub & Townhouse
A practical discussion on why some innovation clusters become global references and the roles of capital, universities, industry, living laboratories and international collaboration in getting there.
Tue 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM
AgTech and Sustainability
Born Global; Market Ready! (Presented by: Innovate Limerick, Hartnett Centre and Nexus Centre)
“Born Global, Market Ready!” explores how entrepreneurs can build a business with international ambition embedded from day one — whether developing software, technology, or a physical product. Rather than viewing internationalisation as something that happens after establishing a successful domestic business, the discussion will explore what it means to design for global customers, markets and scale from the outset. The panel will examine the supports available to ambitious start-ups and how those supports can work together to give founders a first-year edge. By better connecting the entrepreneurial ecosystem, we can help founders access the expertise, networks, funding, talent and market opportunities they need to move faster — while also developing the next generation of globally minded entrepreneurs.
Moderator:
Speakers:
Tue 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM
Startups
Innovative Technologies Meetup
Connect with fellow innovators, technologists, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders who are interested in the technologies shaping our future. This informal Meetup brings together like-minded attendees to exchange ideas and explore the next frontier of AI, data, autonomous systems, cybersecurity, predictive technologies, and digital ethics.Join the conversation about how these rapidly evolving technologies are moving beyond individual tools to become part of the foundational architecture of business, government, and society—and how we can build a future that is more transparent, resilient, secure, and human-centered.
Host:
Tue 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM
Innovative Technologies, Meetup
Beyond the Classroom: Taking Immersive Education Across Sectors
What if 50% of a university degree happened inside industry?
At the University of Limerick, that is already happening. Immersive Software Engineering (ISE) and Immersive Bioscience & Biotherapeutics (iBio) are built around a fundamentally different model of university education, with students spending 50% of their programmes in paid residencies within partner organisations.
The story is a strong one. ISE pioneered the model and iBio is now taking it into bioscience and biotherapeutics. Rather than waiting until graduation to access talent, industry partners engage with students much earlier in their education. They help shape the curriculum, expose students to real industry challenges and provide environments where students learn on the job, solve real problems and develop alongside experienced professionals. For employers, it creates an opportunity not simply to recruit future talent, but to play an active role in developing it.
This fireside chat brings together Professor Stephen Kinsella, Co-Founder of ISE and iBio; Roisin Lyons, bringing the innovation and Enterprise Ireland commercialisation perspective; and Michelle Gallagher, representing industry partnerships within iBio, alongside ISE student who have experienced the model first-hand and are now based in Industry.
Speakers:
Michelle Gallagher, Roisin Lyons, Stephen Kinsella
Tue 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM
MedTech and Life Sciences
Choose Your Own Entrepreneurial Adventure
Many people think entrepreneurship means launching a venture-backed startup. In reality, entrepreneurship is a skillset for navigating uncertainty, spotting opportunities and creating value. In this highly interactive session, you'll use AI-powered customer interviews, rapid experimentation and real entrepreneurial decision-making to explore how the same opportunity can lead to very different outcomes, from side hustles and consultancies to social enterprises, small businesses and high-growth startups. Discover which entrepreneurial path fits your goals, values and ambitions.
Speaker:
Tue 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM
Enterprise
2:15 PM
Break
Break - Sessions will resume in 30 minutes.
Tue 2:15 PM - 2:45 PM
2:45 PM
Culture, Media & Entertainment Meetup
Connect with creators, innovators, entrepreneurs, and industry professionals who are shaping the future of culture, media, and entertainment. This informal Meetup brings together like-minded attendees to exchange ideas around the changing ways we create, consume, distribute, and monetise content. Conversations may explore the creator economy, digital-first platforms, gaming, sport, emerging technologies, and new approaches to engaging audiences around the world. Join the conversation about how technology is transforming entertainment and creating new opportunities for creators, brands, platforms, and audiences. Come ready to share ideas, discover new perspectives, meet new people, and connect with others helping to shape the next generation of global culture and entertainment.
Host:
Tue 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM
Culture, Media and Entertainment, Meetup
The Future of Innovation: Creativity, Technology, and the Journey to Scale (Presented by Crew/Platform 94)
What does it take to turn innovation into an internationally competitive business? This panel will bring together founders and ecosystem leaders to explore the journey from innovation and commercialisation through to growth and international scale.
The discussion will explore how creativity and technology are increasingly converging, with capabilities from gaming, immersive technologies, digital design and AI driving new products, services, and business models across a growing range of industries. Drawing on the experience of founders at different stages of growth, the panel will also explore what it takes to take these innovations to international markets and successfully scale.
Moderator:
Niamh Costello, CEO, CREW
Speakers:
Tue 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM
Innovative Technologies
The Future of Food - Built Here (Presented by Boyne Valley Food Innovation District)
The Old Quarter Pub & Townhouse
A peer roundtable connecting the day’s global themes to real infrastructure, companies and partnerships in the Boyne Valley, while exploring opportunities for collaboration, investment and knowledge exchange.
Speakers:
Brendan Guinan, John Cunningham, Conor O'Keefe
Tue 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM
AgTech and Sustainability
How International Collaboration Sparks Innovation
What happens when two colleges in Canada and Scotland come together to solve a real workforce challenge? This session explores how Durham College and Ayrshire College turned an international partnership into an immersive learning solution for aerospace turbine engine training. The project brought together business development, applied research and academia to create a digital twin that gives learners a practical way to explore engine components in an immersive environment. The session will share what made the partnership work and what others can take from the experience to create impactful, international and innovative solutions.
Speakers:
Robin Young, Debbie McKee Demczyk, Alistair Rodgers, Stuart Miller
Tue 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM
Transport and Aerospace
Beyond the Session
The Old Quarter Pub & Townhouse- Restaurant
Continue the conversation with Stephan Reckie. Ask follow-up questions, exchange ideas, and connect with other attendees in an informal setting.
Speaker:
Tue 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM
Meet the Speakers
Transforming Training: Leveraging XR and AI in Workforce Development
XR and AI are redefining workforce development, enabling organisations to deliver more immersive, engaging and impactful training experiences. From onboarding and safety training to technical skills development and continuous professional learning, these technologies are helping businesses build more capable, adaptable and future-ready workforces.
Drawing on expertise spanning corporate learning, immersive training development, workforce skills programmes and applied research, this panel will examine how XR and AI are reshaping professional development. From creating more effective learning experiences and accelerating skills acquisition to building new talent pipelines through apprenticeships and industry partnerships, panellists will share real-world perspectives on preparing today's workforce for tomorrow's challenges.
Moderator:
Speakers:
Gary Pearson, Zeta Dooly, Mary Walsh O’Shea
Tue 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM
Innovative Technologies
3:30 PM
Break
Break - Sessions will resume in 30 minutes.
Tue 3:30 PM - 4:00 PM
4:00 PM
KEYNOTE: The New Operating Model: Balancing AI Agents and Human Agency
As AI agents transition from digital assistants to autonomous executors of real work, the true competitive advantage shifts from deploying tools to expanding human agency. In this keynote, Head of Future of Work & AI Matthew Duncan, shares data-backed insights on how organizations can rethink the future of work. Grounded in Microsoft’s research on human-AI collaboration, Matthew dissects the "Transformation Paradox" facing enterprise leaders: the friction between sticking to legacy workflows and redesigning operations around AI teammates. You'll leave with a clear view of how leading organisations are moving past pilots to redesign core business processes, elevate human judgment, and build human-first learning systems that keep people ahead of their own tools.
Keynote:
Tue 4:00 PM - 4:45 PM
Keynote
5:00 PM
PubCrawl
Limerick City Centre
Unwind, explore, and connect—join fellow attendees for a lively Pub Crawl through the heart of Limerick city center and experience Limerick’s vibrant nightlife, rich character, and welcoming atmosphere. From traditional Irish pubs to lively local favorites, this is your chance to soak it all in.
Tue 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Experiential
21st October 2026
7:30 AM
Run/Walk the Three Bridges
Wake up, get moving, and experience the charm of Limerick like a local. Join fellow conference attendees each morning for a refreshing run or brisk walk along the iconic Three Bridges route—an energizing way to kick off your day.
Wed 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM
Experiential
8:00 AM
Registration & Badge Pick Up
Please bring your confirmation email with the QR code or a valid photo ID to collect your conference badge.
Wed 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Registration
9:30 AM
From Talent to Founders: Creating the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs (Presented by AxisBIC & BICs)
How can we create the right culture, environment and supports to encourage more people to think entrepreneurially, whether that means starting a business, innovating from within an existing organisation, spinning out of a University or taking the leap from a large multinational to build something of their own?
Speakers:
Larry O'Donoghue, Tony Foote, Liam O'Brien, Melissa Vincent
Wed 9:30 AM - 10:15 AM
Startups
AI + Governance (Presented by CivitasAI)
The Old Quarter Pub & Townhouse
A practical, non-technical session on how AI is shaping decisions and what responsible adoption means including value, risk, accountability, trust and when choosing not to use AI may be the right decision.
Wed 9:30 AM - 10:15 AM
Innovative Technologies
Design Philosophy: The OS Beneath the Tools
Big Motive has spent 15 years designing complex services inside health systems and government, from Northern Ireland's Covid response to national maternity services and private hospital groups. Damian Cranney, founder and CEO, on why the teams that get good outcomes share a clear design philosophy rather than a better toolkit; what that philosophy is; and why it matters more, not less, now that the repeatable parts of design can be automated.
Speaker:
Wed 9:30 AM - 10:15 AM
MedTech and Life Sciences
Scaling Precision Fermentation: Ireland’s Opportunity in Sustainable Food
Precision fermentation is moving from the lab bench to the production line, promising a new generation of proteins, fats, and functional ingredients grown with a fraction of the land, water, and emissions of conventional agriculture. For Ireland, whose economy and identity are deeply tied to agri-science, the question isn't whether this technology matters, but how to position itself as the sector scales.
This panel brings together perspectives across policy, research, and industry to examine precision fermentation’s trajectory over the next decade. Speakers will explore regulation, infrastructure, and investment needed to build a viable market, while discussing how Ireland’s existing strengths in dairy science, biotech, and food innovation give it a distinct advantage.
Speaker:
Wed 9:30 AM - 10:15 AM
AgTech and Sustainability
10:15 AM
Break
Break - Sessions will resume in 30 minutes.
Wed 10:15 AM - 10:45 AM
10:45 AM
Blue-Green Economy – Transition through Innovation
Ports around the world are transforming from traditional freight nodes into vibrant launchpads for clean energy, sustainable supply chains, and marine technology. Drawing on real-world experiences from pioneering Blue Tech incubators to large-scale floating offshore wind and green energy alliances, this session explores how port authorities leverage strategic partnerships, academia, and critical government funding to accelerate early-stage technology. Attendees will gain a forward-looking perspective on how ports are testing, scaling, and deploying next-generation maritime, nature-based, and renewable energy solutions to build resilient, sustainable economies for tomorrow.
Speakers:
Wed 10:45 AM - 11:30 AM
Infrastructure and Logistics
AI Transformation Journey: From Governance to Agentic-Scale Delivery
Most organisations don't struggle to start their AI journey, they struggle to scale it safely. Drawing on hands-on delivery experience, this session sets out a practical, repeatable framework for AI transformation, from assessing organisational readiness and building governance that enables rather than restricts, through funding innovation and mapping high-value use cases, to deploying agentic AI at scale. Attendees will leave with a clear roadmap for turning AI ambition into measurable organisational productivity.
Speaker:
Wed 10:45 AM - 11:30 AM
Enterprise
Rethinking the Routes from Science to Impact
Great science is often the starting point for transformative innovation, but the journey from science to impact is full of difficult choices, stuck systems, funding gaps, and other bottlenecks. Drawing on a decade at the intersection of science, entrepreneurship, investment and societal impact, this talk explores the major blockers and opportunities for science-based innovation, including highlighting the more underexplored routes to impact from science, beyond venture-scale startups.
Speaker:
Wed 10:45 AM - 11:30 AM
Enterprise
Leadership, Guidance and Integration in an AI World (Presented by CivitasAI)
The Old Quarter Pub & Townhouse
As AI becomes embedded in organisations, leadership becomes less about having every answer and more about exercising judgment under conditions of accelerating complexity. The discussion focuses on judgment, trust, organisational culture, governance and keeping human decision-making at the centre. It is designed to equip leaders with the mindset and practices required to integrate AI responsibly while maintaining accountability, resilience and trust.
Speakers:
Wed 10:45 AM - 11:30 AM
Innovative Technologies
Futura Start-Up Pitch - Orange Division (Presented by Adeo Interactive)
Meet our top Finalist companies competing across the Futura Pitch Event tracks: AgTech & Sustainability; Culture, Media & Entertainment; Enterprise; Infrastructure & Logistics; Innovative Technologies; MedTech & Life Sciences; and Transport & Aerospace.
Hear from start-up founders who are working on the latest and greatest innovations that will shape these sectors in the years to come, get the inside scoop on the latest tech trends and innovations, and find hot investment opportunities with start-ups that are poised to scale.
The pitch competition is taking place at Engine Collaboration Centre in the heart of Limerick City. Be sure to join us shortly after 16:00 for the Futura Awards Ceremony, where we will announce the winners!
Wed 10:45 AM - 11:30 AM
Startups
11:30 AM
Break
Break - Sessions will resume in 30 minutes.
Wed 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
12:00 PM
From Insight to Action (Presented by CivitasAI)
The Old Quarter Pub & Townhouse
An interactive CivitasAI working session showing how decision intelligence can structure complex information, identify gaps and dependencies, align priorities and turn insight into coordinated action.
Wed 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM
Innovative Technologies
AI Meets Analogue: Finding the Human in Creative Technology
The debate around AI and the creative industries is often framed as a conflict: human creativity versus machines, old craft versus new technology. But what happens when the two work together?
In this session, we explore an unusual example from the music industry, where AI agents and automation sit alongside traditional vinyl presses to help produce and distribute one of music’s most enduring physical formats.
We’ll look at how new and old technologies can coexist, where AI genuinely adds value, and where human judgement, creativity and craft still matter most.
Rather than asking whether AI will replace creativity, this conversation asks a more useful question: how can we use it to protect and enhance the things worth keeping?
Speakers:
Wed 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM
Culture, Media and Entertainment
Trajectory, Not Status
What do we miss when we measure where people are, but not where they are going? Patrick Van Pelt explores four identical health readings with four different histories to ask when trajectory changes a responsible decision. The session examines what useful instruments owe the people they measure, when they should say "unknown," and how much uncertainty a commercial tool can expose before it becomes unusable. Participants will leave with questions for testing these ideas in their own fields.
Speaker:
Wed 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM
Enterprise
Futura Start-Up Pitch - Green Division (Presented by Adeo Interactive)
Meet our top Finalist companies competing across the Futura Pitch Event tracks: AgTech & Sustainability; Culture, Media & Entertainment; Enterprise; Infrastructure & Logistics; Innovative Technologies; MedTech & Life Sciences; and Transport & Aerospace.
Hear from start-up founders who are working on the latest and greatest innovations that will shape these sectors in the years to come, get the inside scoop on the latest tech trends and innovations, and find hot investment opportunities with start-ups that are poised to scale.
The pitch competition is taking place at Engine Collaboration Centre in the heart of Limerick City. Be sure to join us shortly after 16:00 for the Futura Awards Ceremony, where we will announce the winners!
Wed 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM
Startups
12:45 PM
Lunch Break
Grab some food and drink at local restaurants.
Wed 12:45 PM - 1:30 PM
1:30 PM
Futura Start-Up Pitch - Purple Division (Presented by Adeo Interactive)
Meet our top Finalist companies competing across the Futura Pitch Event tracks: AgTech & Sustainability; Culture, Media & Entertainment; Enterprise; Infrastructure & Logistics; Innovative Technologies; MedTech & Life Sciences; and Transport & Aerospace.
Hear from start-up founders who are working on the latest and greatest innovations that will shape these sectors in the years to come, get the inside scoop on the latest tech trends and innovations, and find hot investment opportunities with start-ups that are poised to scale.
The pitch competition is taking place at Engine Collaboration Centre in the heart of Limerick City. Be sure to join us shortly after 16:00 for the Futura Awards Ceremony, where we will announce the winners!
Wed 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM
Startups
Still Human: How People Stay Relevant as AI Reshapes Aerospace (Presented by CivitasAI)
The Old Quarter Pub & Townhouse
A high-stakes examination of human judgment, oversight and accountability as AI takes on more technical work using aerospace to explore questions relevant to every complex AI-enabled system.
Wed 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM
Innovative Technologies
2:15 PM
Break
Break - Sessions will resume in 30 minutes.
Wed 2:15 PM - 2:45 PM
2:45 PM
Space Is Becoming Everyone’s Business
The Old Quarter Pub & Townhouse
Space is no longer a standalone industry defined by rockets and satellites. It is rapidly converging with AI, energy, finance, robotics, cybersecurity, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, climate technology and many other sectors of the global economy. Join GEN Space Executive Director and venture investor Stephan Reckie and former World Economic Forum space leader Nikolai Khlystov for a dynamic conversation about where the next commercial opportunities will emerge, how investors and entrepreneurs should think about this changing landscape, and why you don’t have to be in the Space industry to have an opportunity in the Space economy.
Speakers:
Stephan Reckie, Nikolai Khlystov
Wed 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM
Transport and Aerospace
Futura Start-Up Pitch - Blue Division (Presented by Adeo Interactive)
Meet our top Finalist companies competing across the Futura Pitch Event tracks: AgTech & Sustainability; Culture, Media & Entertainment; Enterprise; Infrastructure & Logistics; Innovative Technologies; MedTech & Life Sciences; and Transport & Aerospace.
Hear from start-up founders who are working on the latest and greatest innovations that will shape these sectors in the years to come, get the inside scoop on the latest tech trends and innovations, and find hot investment opportunities with start-ups that are poised to scale.
The pitch competition is taking place at Engine Collaboration Centre in the heart of Limerick City. Be sure to join us shortly after 16:00 for the Futura Awards Ceremony, where we will announce the winners!
Wed 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM
Startups
3:30 PM
Break
Break - Sessions will resume in 30 minutes.
Wed 3:30 PM - 4:00 PM
4:00 PM
