The Department of Economics, CUBS and Aberystwyth Business School are pleased to invite you to a joint workshop on Digital Infrastructure, Accessibility and Connectivity in Rural Areas - Experiences from Wales and Ireland
About the Workshop
As technology is increasingly important in our personal lives and business environment, viable digital infrastructure and accessibility are essential for the competitiveness of businesses and the well-being of people in modern society. Despite focused policies and interventions to address the digital accessibility divide between urban and rural areas in Ireland and the UK and success in some communities regarding the effectiveness digital connectivity project initiatives, digital connectivity issues persist. These issues affect quality of life, opportunity, wellbeing, and business competitiveness and productivity in rural areas.
The Irish rural development policy 2021-25, Our Rural Future, is in its final year and the new programme to 2030 is in development. Digital connectivity is a critical aspect of the current programme and will feature strongly in the new policy.
This workshop will bring together the experiences of researchers at Aberystwyth Business School based on several research projects in Ceredigion and other rural areas in Wales and the experiences of businesses in West Cork through the Ludgate Hub. The workshop is open to all.
2pm Welcome from Declan Jordan, Cork University Business School
2.10pm to 2.50pm Digital Infrastructure, Accessibility and Connectivity, the Well-Being of People and Digital Competitiveness of Businesses in Rural Wales - Aloysius Igboekwu, Sarah Lindop and Maria Plotnikova, Aberystwyth Business School
2.50pm to 3.10pm Rural Digital Accessibility and Connectivity: The West Cork Experience - Katy Wareing, Director of Strategy & Innovation, The Ludgate Hub
3.10pm to 3.30pm Open discussion and potential for collaborative research
More information contact: Declan Jordan or Lisa Noonan, Cork University Business School at [email protected] or [email protected]