If you are reading this blog, then you, like several billions of others, are an internet user. This means that you are part of a global online community that can shop, game, research, browse, download and upload, market and advertise, and connect with vast numbers of other users – either from the comfort of your home, or while on the move in just about any location on earth.
The near-infinite supply of information that is available to each of us, and the quick and ready access to it, has changed they way we interact with others on both a personal and a professional level. Not only that, but it has changed how we interact with the world around us.
The changes and innovations to come are likely to have an even more profound affect on our lives, and we should all be interested in what’s coming down the stream to meet us.
On Friday 28 June, the National College of Ireland (NCI) will host the dot conf, an event, in the organisers’ own words, ‘for anyone who works, rests or plays with the internet. Essentially it s a teddy bears picnic but with internet folk instead of bears.’
The conference, now in its fourth year, is a day-long series of fascinating talks, panel discussions, Q and A sessions, and sociable interaction on a face-to-face- basis. There will be speakers from Google, Coder Dojo, the Football Association of Ireland, NCI, the Irish Times, and plenty more. Topics that will be covered include ‘Digital Trends or: where is this internet thing headed ‘ and ‘Cloud Computing Half way through the revolution’.
It promises to be a fascinating event and credit must go to NCI – which will hold another digital-based event the previous Friday (21 June) – for facilitating it. Indeed, the college’s commitment to embracing all things digital is apparent from the courses it runs to the state-of-the-art facilities that students there enjoy. Full-time and part-time courses are available in the areas of accountancy, business, psychology, marketing, computing, finance and human resource management. These can be taken from foundation to degree and postgraduate level through two schools: the School of Business and the School of Computing.
If you’re interested in seeing what NCI has to offer you, check out the college’s next Open Day, which takes place on 20 June, from 5pm to 7pm.
