Northern Ireland to Cross the AI Frontier with MIT’s Paul Cheek

MIT Entrepreneur in Residence, Paul Cheek is set to address businesses, start-ups and public sector leaders during a two-day conference taking place on 30 September and 1 October across multiple locations in Belfast and Derry-Londonderry.

Jointly facilitated by NI Chamber, Catalyst and Software NI, ‘Crossing the AI Frontier’ has been curated to help rapidly transform how organisations across Northern Ireland harness the potential of artificial intelligence.

A series of sector-specific, hands-on sessions will teach proven frameworks used by MIT startups and Fortune 500 companies to drive revenue growth, improve public services, and accelerate business transformation.

Encouraging leaders to embrace the opportunity to learn from a global exemplar, Suzanne Wylie, Chief Executive, NI Chamber said:

“AI is no longer a future trend – it’s a current reality which is rapidly shaping how we deliver services, drive innovation, boost competitiveness and rethink our business models. Having Paul Cheek from MIT share his expertise is a unique opportunity for both business and public sector leaders to understand not just the technology and its capabilities, but how to practically use the tools and seize the opportunities.

“This conference is about equipping leaders with the insight and confidence to harness AI rapidly and strategically. I would urge encourage anyone with responsibility for business strategy and transformation to attend. None of us can afford to be left behind.”

Highlighting the scale of opportunity for ambitious start-ups, Steve Orr, CEO at Catalyst said:

“For years, building tech meant raising big rounds before you could ship. Those rules no longer apply. Crossing the AI Frontier gives NI founders the tools to build AI-Driven Enterprises with MIT’s Paul Cheek. I would particularly highlight Day 2’s New Entrepreneurship Playbook and the ecosystem strategy working lunch with REAP, Invest NI and partners to align support around this reality, so Northern Ireland’s startups can build faster, scale here and compete globally.”

Neil Hutcheson, CEO, Software NI added:

“As part of a wider ambition to see Northern Ireland thrive, our mission is to accelerate and double the size of the NI software industry. Key to this is stimulating unprecedented levels of AI awareness, interest and skill across a range of different touchpoints in our society. In this context, Paul Cheek will lead a first-of-its-kind programme of events. We are confident the approach and its legacy will help enable more people in NI to surf the wave of AI opportunity. It’s great to partner with Catalyst, NI Chamber and many others to make this happen.”

Crossing the AI Frontier is delivered with the support of headline sponsor AWS, along with session sponsors Ergo, Slalom, EY and Microsoft. It is also delivered in partnership with Invest NI, Department for the Economy and Matrix.

To book tickets, visit Crossing the AI Frontier