Sláinte! (Cheers in Irish)

10 May 2017

A Short and Fruitful Trip to Dublin

Day 1

With only three days to complete our trek, we definitely put our time in Ireland to good use. First up was to Murex. Murex is a financial technology company that specialises in providing trading platform for financial institutions and trading houses. We were introduced to the work of the company by Andrea and Thomas, both are alumni of university of Edinburgh business school. The coolest thing of Murex was their extensive use of agile concept in developing solutions to their clients which are highly customised and in touch with the needs of client. Gone were the days where technology solutions are developed and forcibly pushed to the client, instead we are looking at quick solutions that are developed constantly and rapidly for clients.

Next up , Google! Google needs no further mention as a renowned company in the world! It has always been a university student dream to immerse in Google environment. Anyone who wants a cool environment to work definitely would choose Google. Denys, project manager of Google, brought us through the company introduction of Google. With its open working environment and an in house merchandise store, this place is too Googley not to be missed.

Day 2

IDA Ireland, the semi government agency of Ireland that is tasked with the job of attracting foreign investments to Ireland. In IDA, we were given insights to the macro environment of Ireland and the role IDA played. I definitely did not know the reason for the strong bounce back Ireland has after the financial crisis was due to the continued focus by Ireland in areas of services and life sciences industry which gave them an edge over the rest of the EU countries. With a changing global climate that is filled with uncertainty, Ireland is also watching the developments of EU closely.

Day 3

Brian Marrinan, Managing Partner of talent and entrepreneurship consultancy, Journey Partners had a discussion about Irish economy. We were enlightened with the knowledge of Ireland from localised expertise. Ireland, with its focus on services and financial technology is a magnet for technology companies. This is further supported by the highest proportion of graduates among EU countries in the workforce.

Our last visit was to Accenture innovation centre. This was for me the most mind blowing experience in the trek. Ever thought of Jarvis system in the iron man movie series, this is where future solutions of that direction are created. With a ecosystem that promotes creativity and flexibility, there is a hive of activities within the innovation centre. Software engineers ,technology specialists, customer liaison work in teams to provide Accenture pieces of wisdom as guidance to future industrial trends, in the hope that this will shed light for clients to work further on.

An Irish trip ended with a bang when we visited the Guinness storehouse, the most well known export of Ireland. With a black stout and a bird's eye view of Ireland to savour at the Gravity Bar, it was a delight.

Reflections on the Trip

The recurring theme that centres around the talks and conferences is human capital. This is a term that is mentioned by several of the keynote speakers during the Dublin Trek. Given the rapid changes that technological companies are facing, people are the ones that drive the changes. Therefore, there is an enormous emphasis in human capital through the use of “AGILE” concepts, “SPRINT” and creating a ecosystem to streamline and develop fast and relevant solutions to the customers. We learnt that companies are constantly looking for team players or building blocks that are good fits to the organisation.

To all future aspirants of the Dublin trek, this trip was extremely rewarding in gaining insights of companies which integrate technological solutions into their businesses. The resources put in by these corporations to create an ideal environment for innovative solutions bring fresh perspectives to the traditional paradigms of business transaction. For me, I would not have known the idea of AGILE in technology consulting companies used extensively had it not been for this trek.

General feedback on the trek: Great companies to visit. The talks were all interesting. I really like how it was a great balance between seeing the companies and time to explore the city. Busy seeing interesting things, but also did not felt like I was constantly rushing.

Zhe Han Teo, MSc International Business and Emerging Markets. Find more information about Santander funding under Opportunities.