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09:30 – 10:00 | Registration & Networking Coffee
Welcome refreshments served on arrival as attendees meet industry peers, researchers, and technology leaders to begin informal dialogue on the evolving role of AI in Irish manufacturing.
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10:00 – 10:10 | Opening Remarks
🎤 Adrienne McDonnell, Senior Executive, Irish Medtech Association
The event opens with a strategic overview of the importance of AI as a transformative force in manufacturing and how cross-sector collaboration and policy can enable meaningful adoption at scale.
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10:10 – 10:25 | Current AI Landscape
🎤 Erik O’Donovan, Head of Digital Economy Policy, Ibec
AI is rapidly surpassing human capabilities in areas such as image classification, language processing, and visual reasoning. This session sets the scene by examining where Irish and global industry sits on the AI maturity curve and Ireland’s position in global innovation. It explores governance challenges, ethical considerations, policy & regulatory implications (such as the EU AI Act; Ireland’s AI and Quantum Strategies, etc.), and what industry and government must do to keep pace with change.
10:25 – 10:40 | AI as a Catalyst for Manufacturing Innovation
Topic: Building future manufacturing with applied artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics
10:40 – 10:55 | Focus on AI Adoption and Business Strategy
🎤 Carlos García Santiago, Head of AI Strategy, Irish Manufacturing Research
This session delves into how companies must prepare before scaling AI solutions — from infrastructure and workforce skills to data maturity. It also highlights the need to prioritise AI projects with measurable ROI, and to avoid hype-led investments.
10:55 – 11: 30 Panel discussion: Navigating the AI Frontier: From Policy to Practice
This expert panel brings together strategic thinkers and practitioners from across Ireland’s AI and manufacturing ecosystem to explore how Ireland can lead in industrial AI deployment. Drawing on insights from policy, strategy, and implementation, speakers will examine the evolving AI landscape — from global competitiveness and governance challenges to sectoral readiness and business value. The discussion will explore how Ireland’s AI and Quantum strategies intersect with manufacturing, what support structures industry needs, and how we can shift from isolated pilots to scaled, ROI-driven adoption.
Moderator: Filip Moriau, CEO, Straglion Agile Innovation
Panellists:
- Erik O’Donovan, Head of Digital Economy Policy, Ibec (confirmed)
- Carlos García Santiago, Head of AI Strategy, Irish Manufacturing Research (confirmed)
- Speaker to be announced
11:30 - 12:40 | Accelerating AI Integration: Real-World Adoption Stories from Industry
In this dynamic session, four company use cases will be shared – giving real world examples of how they are integrating AI into core manufacturing operations. From predictive maintenance and automated quality inspection to workflow optimisation and strategic scaling. Each speaker will share lessons learned on accelerating adoption and creating tangible business value. The presentations will be followed by a moderated panel discussion exploring common challenges, investment drivers, and the cultural shift required to build AI-ready teams.
👥 Speakers & Format (suggested)
Each speaker will deliver an 8-minute mini case study:
- Shane Loughlin, President, ESE Academy and Co-founder SL Controls
- Marwan Abbas, Site Operational Excellence & Industrial Digitalisation Manager, Valeo
- James Lardner, Fellow Software Equipment Engineer, and Noel Doherty, Senior Software Engineer, Boston Scientific
- David Bermingham, Director of AI at the Advancing Innovation in Manufacturing (AIM) Centre
Moderator: Josephine Lawler, Operational Excellence Director, West Contract Manufacturing
Panel discussion:
- Shane Loughlin, President, ESE Academy and Co-founder SL Controls (Confirmed)
- Marwan Abbas, Site Operational Excellence & Industrial Digitalisation Manager, Valeo (Confirmed)
- James Lardner, Fellow Software Equipment Engineer, Boston Scientific (Confirmed)
- Noel Doherty, Senior Software Engineer, Boston Scientific (Confirmed)
- David Birmingham, AI Director, AIM (Confirmed)
12:10 – 12:45 | Lunch & Informal Networking
Buffet lunch served on-site. Attendees can explore demo stations and continue informal conversations.12:45 – 14:30 | Guided Tour & Live AI Demonstrations
- Dr Patrick Cronin, Senior Programme Manager – Digitalisation, IMR
A highlight of the day — this immersive tour showcases how AI is being applied in practice across the labs and production testbeds of Manufacturing Research Ireland. Attendees will rotate through a series of hands-on demonstration zones, where research engineers, technologists and industry collaborators will explain the use of AI in real-time manufacturing environments.
Demonstrations may include:
- Robotic automation with AI
- Real-time defect detection using computer vision
- Predictive analytics platforms for operations
- Human-machine collaboration tools
Brendan Sheppard, CEO of Smart Factory — who is working with IMR to co-develop several of the demos — will also be present and may provide additional insight into the deployment and application of these technologies from an industry perspective.
Attendees are encouraged to ask questions at each station and engage directly with the technical teams leading the projects.
14:30 – 15:15 | Closing Session: The Future of AI-Driven Manufacturing in Ireland – Key Takeaways
This closing session distils key insights from across the day and looks ahead at the future of AI in Ireland’s manufacturing ecosystem. It highlights emerging use cases, skills and talent considerations, and strategic opportunities for scaling responsibly. Attendees will gain practical guidance from research, industry and workforce development perspectives — including the first public insights from a national GenAI programme focused on real-world use cases in Irish industry.
Moderator: Dr Patrick Cronin, Senior Programme Manager – Digitalisation, IMR
The session will explore:
- What next-generation manufacturing in Ireland will look like — and how to enable it
- How to scale AI adoption from experimentation to enterprise-wide value
- What new skills, roles and mindsets are needed for an AI-enabled workforce
- How collaboration across higher education, research, and enterprise can accelerate both innovation and talent development
- The support structures and funding pathways needed to deliver inclusive transformation
Expect key takeaways, rapid-fire insights, and a collective call to action.
- Jennifer McCormack, Network Manager, Connected Health Skillnet
- Christopher Ryan, Director Supply Chain Operations, EY
- Sinead McDonagh, Director Data Analytics, EY
15:15 – 15:30 | Closing remarks
🎤 Mike Farrell, Director Business Transformation, West Pharmaceutical Services (Chair, Ibec’s MTE Advanced Manufacturing Working Group)