Raju Narisetti. Image: Raju Narisetti
Inspirefest 2018 is a little over a week away and the line-up keeps on growing.
Inspirefest is making a welcome return to the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre on 21 and 22 June, with a jam-packed roster of speakers in areas as varied as blockchain, diversity and workplace accessibility.
As well as the broad spectrum of talks taking place across the two days, attendees can also enjoy entertainment at the Inspirefest Fringe and relax at the HubSpot Happy Hour.
Five new speakers have joined the Inspirefest line-up for this year, including returning speaker Raju Narisetti, Dr Anne Looney, Dr Shaun O’Boyle, Liam Ryan and Ranjani Kearsley. They will join the already impressive line-up for what looks to be a brilliant event.
Raju Narisetti
Raju Narisetti. Image: Raju Narisetti
Raju Narisetti is a media executive with an impressive track record with some major North American media organisations. He was recently appointed as a professor of professional practice and director of the Knight-Bagehot business fellowship programme at Columbia University’s School of Journalism.
Prior to this, he was CEO of Gizmodo Media Group, managing brands such as Gizmodo, Jezebel, The Root and Deadspin. He also worked as senior vice-president at News Corp and managed the Wall Street Journal Digital Network. He will be discussing the future of content at the ‘New Media Landscape: Content Fit for the 21st Century’ panel on Friday 22 June.
Dr Anne Looney
Dr Anne Looney. Image: DCU
Dr Anne Looney is the executive dean of Dublin City University’s new Institute of Education. From 2011 to 2016, she was CEO of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment and also held the position of interim CEO of the Higher Education Authority until March 2017.
A former teacher, Looney is passionate about professional standards for teachers and teaching as well as wider education policy and assessment systems. She will be speaking on the ‘STEM and STEAM Education for the Many’ panel on Thursday 21 June.
Dr Shaun O’Boyle
Shaun O’Boyle. Image: Shaun O’Boyle
A producer and science communicator, Dr Shaun O’Boyle is striving to improve support and visibility of LGBTQ scientists. Founder of Irish network House of STEM and one of the organisers behind #LGBTSTEMDay, he is also one half of producing partnership Bureau, which makes radio documentaries and podcasts championing diverse voices.
Creativity and science go hand in hand for O’Boyle, who has a PhD in developmental biology and undertook postdoctoral research in genetics and evolution. He will be discussing House of STEM on 21 June.
Liam Ryan
Liam Ryan. Image: SAP Labs Ireland
Liam Ryan is managing director of SAP Labs Ireland and has overseen the growth of its Irish operations – the company now has more than 2,000 employees working across 30 lines of business in Dublin and Galway. Ryan began his career working for Siemens in Amberg and Softlab in Munich.
On his return to Ireland, he worked as an automation engineer with APV and as an engineering manager for Motorola, before joining SAP. He currently serves on the Export Trade Council and the National Skills Council. Ryan will be speaking as part of the panel entitled ‘The Autism Advantage’ on 21 June.
Ranjani Kearsley
Ranjani Kearsley. Image: People Matters
Head of HR at Fidelity International, Ranjani Kearsley leads a group of HR professionals in the delivery of the Fidelity people agenda across a range of global locations. She studied at the London School of Economics but soon found working directly with people to be a more satisfying path.
Kearsley values strong leadership and often draws from her own background to support others. She will be joining fellow panellists on 22 June to discuss putting people centre stage in the workplace.
Inspirefest is Silicon Republic’s international event connecting sci-tech professionals passionate about the future of STEM. Get your tickets now to join us in Dublin on 21 and 22 June 2018.
