18 May 2016

With the global economy becoming more and more data influenced, and data-driven thinking being extended into every facet of life, Ireland is being primed to capture a large slice of this market, with our wealth of homegrown talent in data science. To recognise this emerging talent in Ireland and the potential for Ireland to become the European Data Science Hub, the inaugural DatSci Awards have been launched jointly by Next Generation and the National Centre for Applied Data Analytics (CeADAR).

 

The DatSci Awards which will take place next September, and the entry process has just been opened on the dedicated awards website www.datsciawards.ie

 

Linda Davis, CEO and founder of Next Generation stated at the launch, “Ireland is already leading the charge on the significance of this profession for businesses. Within our own organisation, we select the best talent for a wide variety of sectors internationally and we are seeing a massive increase in the demand for talented Data Scientists from all sizes of businesses. Data scientists are helping businesses evolve to a more data-driven decision making process across every sector, bringing technology and business together in a way that was never been done before. We are so delighted to be joining with CeADAR to recognise this pool of talent in Ireland, to shine a bright light on the profession and to encourage more people to consider data science as a very rewarding and fulfilling career choice.”

 

Edward McDonnell, Centre Director at National Centre for Applied Data Analytics (CeADAR) stated “The potential for our economy and for job creation is massive. With a talented and educated homegrown pool of graduates, and our position within the EU and our global reputation for talent in the technology sector, Ireland is a very attractive location for international Technology Centres and for indigenous business to grow and develop around this sector. The data science industry is at such an exciting stage and we feel that the work accomplished and the developments in the field deserve to be recognised at every level, as they will be in September through the inaugural DatSci Awards.”

 

The DatSci Awards were unveiled at a recent breakfast event for Data Scientists and industry thought leaders held in The Fitzwilliam Hotel, St. Stephen's Green, which inherited positive feedback and anticipation for the upcoming event. The event was organised by Laura Kennedy, Head of Data Science Recruitment at Next Generation who stated, “The movement towards data driven business management and decision-making in Ireland over the last number of years has been phenomenal. Ireland has become a real hub for data innovation as well as Research and Development. We have some of the most exciting talent and analytics programmes here, whether you are looking at large organisations or our small agile start ups. This is a really exciting time for Ireland as a real hub of the global data community and the buzz around the DatSci Awards is a great showcase for our amazing Data Scientists and their work.”

 

The awards will be split into six categories and will look at companies in the data science industry including multinationals, SME’s and Start-up’s. It will also look at practicing scientists and post graduate students studying data science, as well as academic research in the area.

 

Award Categories

● Data Scientist of the Year

● Company of the Year - Start Up

● Company of the Year - SME

● Company of the Year - Multinational

● Best Team - Academic Research

● Student of the Year

 

Winners will be chosen by a panel of judges recognisable and respected in the industry - Edward McDonnell, Centre Director at National Centre for Applied Data Analytics (CeADAR); Dermot Casey, Venture Leader at National Digital Research Centre (NDRC); Helen McBreen, Investment Director at Atlantic Bridge Capital and Cronan McNamara, CEO & Founder of Creme Global and The Predict Conference, Linda Davis CEO of Next Generation.

 

For more information on the DatSci Awards visit www.datsciawards.ie or follow @DatSciAwards on twitter.