Minister Donohoe Opens Dublin Campus of Talent Garden
Talent Garden Dublin, the latest facility in Europe’s largest network of digital innovation hubs was opened today in DCU Alpha, DCU’s Innovation Campus, by Minister for Finance & Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD.
It is the first Innovation & Coworking Hub/University strategic partnership of its kind in the world and is designed specifically to service the needs of global tech leaders based in Ireland.
Uniquely, Talent Garden Dublin provides Irish members with access and opportunity to collaborate across a growing global network of 3,500 tech professionals, allowing them to scale up and internationalise rapidly. Talent Garden’s 23 campuses in 8 countries across Europe, as well as its planned new facility in San Francisco enable members to quickly maximise EU/US connections.
Across Europe, the group hosts freelancers, start-ups and innovation labs of large corporates such as BMW Group, Google, Cisco, Vodafone and Electrolux who want to leverage the vibrancy of a coworking and digital innovation ecosystem.
Today, Intel announced that as part of their ongoing collaboration with DCU they will have a presence at Talent Garden. The company is looking to identify and enable an indigenous cohort of AI/Computer Vision innovators through the provision of its technology, as well as providing a structured programme of technical guidance and support under one roof.
Speaking at the launch Paschal Donohoe TD, Minister for Finance & Public Expenditure and Reform said:
“When the Government launched the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund, we were especially hoping to see MNC’s engage with start-ups and academic institutes in areas such as Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision amongst others.
With the launch of Talent Garden Dublin, we now have an innovation platform through which this can be accelerated – as evidenced by today’s announcement of the Intel programme, supported by Talent Garden and DCU.
Ireland’s new economy needs facilities like this to continue to survive and thrive in a digitised world. We are therefore delighted to see Talent Garden Dublin open its doors on the old Enterprise Ireland HQ site, itself dating back to the formation of modern Irish industrial policy; a fitting location for this innovative, forward thinking and strategic initiative.”
Having built a strong reputation realising the potential of peripheral cities across Europe, Dublin marks Talent Garden’s first capital city campus and was chosen for its next wave of international expansion.
Speaking at the opening today, Talent Garden Founder and CEO Davide Dattoli said
“As Ireland is the largest English-speaking country in the eurozone, and is already the leading HQ for many of the global tech companies we work with, it has great appeal. We are inspired by the nurturing and cultivating entrepreneurial environment. It is, we believe, one of the best countries in the world to do business in and has become our most important office in Europe from which to springboard our members globally, particularly in the context of Brexit.”
With a capacity for over 350 people, Talent Garden Dublin is co-founded by Luca Ascani, Salvatore Esposito and Niall O’Connor, all successful tech entrepreneurs already based in Ireland.
According to Mr. Dattoli, there is a war for digital talent in Ireland as the structure of work changes and new models emerge.
“I am hearing again and again from managers that the lack of a strong pipeline for digital talent is concerning especially for data analysts, Ecommerce and digital professionals and today I am proud to announce details of our Talent Garden Innovation School”.
The school focuses on training in areas such as AI, Growth Hacking, AR/VR, Coding, Blockchain as well as leadership, design etc. Its highly regarded digital skills bootcamp model has a proven track record in upskilling entrepreneurs and assisting corporates on their digital transformation journeys across Europe. The Dublin school will open on 30th October with a lecture from new faculty member, international business mogul Phuong Uyen Tran, Deputy CEO of Tan Hiep Phat (THP) Group. Details of Ireland’s first VC in Residence Programme which will launch in Talent Garden Dublin later in the year were also announced today. “Although coworking facilities will account for 30% of total corporate work space by 2030, our focus is on building a community of shared values and a dynamic ecosystem of digital innovation where members meet, work, learn and collaborate together”. said Mr. Dattoli.
This is cultivated, in part, through events such as workshops, fireside chats with global tech leaders, expert advisory sessions, fund-raising talks and panel debates.
Speaking at the launch, DCU President, Professor Brian MacCraith, said
“the launch of Talent Garden Dublin on our Innovation Campus, DCU Alpha, marks another major milestone in DCU’s commitment to advance Ireland’s innovation ecosystem. Operating at the forefront of digital innovation will be central to Ireland’s future prosperity. In that context, we are delighted to have attracted the provider of Europe’s largest network of digital innovation hubs to DCU Alpha.
More significantly, our exciting Digital Innovation & Skills partnership with Talent Garden will enhance the ability of both organisations to play a central role in the technological transformation taking place in Ireland and across Europe.
The announcement today from Intel is hugely significant and we hope that many similar innovative companies will follow suit. The worlds of work and learning are rapidly blending together and Talent Garden Dublin offers a unique combination of innovation and education that will help start-ups, SMEs and multinationals, navigate the opportunities created by rapidly evolving Disruptive Technologies.
Through this unique DCU-Talent Garden partnership, Talent Garden goes way beyond co-working as it is currently understood in Ireland, and into the fields of accredited digital skills training, corporate digital transformation, as well as creating international connectivity for Irish start-ups looking to scale up in other markets.”
Mark Bennett, has been appointed Country Manager of Ireland for Talent Garden. Mark has worked in the private, public and NGO sectors in Ireland, US, UK and Italy including placements with the US EPA and the European Commission.
About Talent Garden
Talent Garden is the leading European digital innovation hub and co-working ecosystem. Founded in Brescia, Italy – Talent Garden has now grown its network across 18 European cities and is hosting over 3,500 digital professionals in 23 campuses across 8 countries. Unlike real estate driven international co-working operators, Talent Garden puts education and innovation at its core in developing its tech community. It focuses on new ways to transform and connect the flexible work and education environments that are being demanded by digital entrepreneurs and businesses undergoing digital transformation.
About Dublin City University
Dublin City University is a young, dynamic, globally-engaged, research-intensive university with a focus on translating science and knowledge into economic benefit. As Ireland’s fastest growing university, DCU creates an environment that encourages creativity and fosters the development of entrepreneurial and innovative thinking in students and staff alike. Industry-academic collaboration has been a substantial and distinctive element of the DCU research profile since its establishment. DCU has consistently over the past five years signed more licence and option agreements for its innovative technology than any other Irish university.
About DCU Alpha
DCU Alpha is a 200,000 sq ft commercial innovation campus, that will shortly be home to over 80 companies and 900 staff, making it larger than the Digital Hub. DCU Alpha has a unique focus in Ireland on Digital Transformation and the Internet of Things, across Industrial Automation, Connected Health, AI/Computer Vision, Sensor Technologies, Data Analytics and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications. As well as being home to Siemens Ireland, Shimmer Sensing, Taoglas, Fire1, and other IoT innovators, DCU Alpha also hosts a European Space Agency IoT incubator programme and a M2M test and certification lab.