Conferences

On 23 October 2025, ATU hosted the inaugural NW 2025: Shaping Our Digital Futures Conference on behalf of our tertiary partners in the North West Tertiary Education Cluster (NWTEC). It marked the first in a planned series of annual events under the NW DEPTH initiative, which aims to build momentum around digital collaboration and skills development in the North West City Region. The conference showcased national and international expertise examining the opportunities and challenges associated with the increasing pace of digital transformation. It also explored the key digital trends of relevance to the North West cross-border region for the medium and longer term.

James Lawless, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science joined the conference to discuss Ireland’s Digital Education Strategy. Louise Watson, Director of Further Education represented the Department For Economy NI. Five expert panels explored themes including AI, Cybersecurity, Innovation, and Digital Skills. Each discussion provided valuable perspectives on the opportunities and challenges facing the region as it embraces digital transformation.

The 2024 conference was themed around the Future North West and had a strong enterprise focus. The conference was delivered at Ulster University, Derry~Londonderry in collaboration with the Centre for Cross Border Studies as part of their 25th anniversary celebrations.

The conference was addressed by the ministers in both jurisdictions with responsibility for higher education, Mr Conor Murphy MLA, Economy Minister and Mr Patrick O Donovan TD, Minister for Further & Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

The keynote address was delivered by Mr Danny McCoy, CEO of Ibec; Danny was previously a senior economist at both the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and the Central Bank of Ireland in Dublin. The conference saw a host of engaging and inspiring speakers who took the opportunity to explore the cutting edge innovations and trends shaping the North West City Region.

The inaugural conference of the North West Tertiary Education Cluster was held on the 7th October 2022 at the Atlantic Technological University. The conference provided a platform to profile best practice on how to grow a cross-border region, build a talent pipeline through collaboration in tertiary education, and support and attract talent and enterprise to the region. The conference provided a platform to showcase the collaboration in place in the unique model that is the North West City Region.

Simon Harris, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Science and innovation joined the conference to show his support for the initiative and delegates heard directly from Industry representatives about the key factors that influenced them to do business in the North West.