Coding Ireland has launched the “Coding School Awards”, a national school award programme that marks the achievements of students, teachers and schools in learning about coding & STEM.

Coding Ireland Launch of Coding School Awards

The awards aim to highlight the work of teachers and schools in bringing these important subjects into the classroom and presenting new opportunities for students to learn about, use and program technology.

“We are delighted to launch this national school award programme. Irish schools have been making huge strides in bringing coding and STEM into the classroom and these awards not only recognise their fantastic work but will hopefully inspire our next generation of engineers, scientists and technology leaders.” Alan Joyce, Director, Coding Ireland

Schools can apply for the awards through the Coding Ireland website www.codingireland.ie and must demonstrate the levels of teacher training and classroom hours dedicated to coding & STEM for the category they are applying for.

Categories of Award

There are four different categories of awards:

Coding School – for schools using basic coding languages such as Scratch and other block-based languages.

Robotics School – for schools programming robots, circuits, sensors and cars.

Web Design School – for schools using web programming languages such as HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

Programming School – for schools using advanced programming languages such as Python, C++ and Java.

Successful schools receive a large award flag that can be displayed outside their school to mark their achievement as well as an award certificate from Coding Ireland.

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Handheld Group, a leading manufacturer of rugged mobile computers, recently announced a major operating system (OS) upgrade—to Android 11—for the Algiz RT8 ultra-rugged Android tablet. The upgrade includes Android Enterprise Recommended (AER) certification which puts the Algiz RT8 on a select list of devices certified by Google to meet stringent enterprise-focused requirements. We will be reviewing this product soon for our review section.

Handheld and Algiz RT8

The Algiz RT8 ultra-rugged tablet is prepared for whatever the outside environment delivers — extreme temperatures, vibration, drops, water, and dust. This popular 8-inch tablet allows faster and more efficient work in the field.

The ultra-rugged Algiz RT8 tablet offers:

· Android 11 operating system with GMS, Android Enterprise Recommended (AER).

· An 8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage.

· A sunlight-readable, 8-inch capacitive multi-touch display with super-hardened Gorilla Glass, plus rain and glove mode.

· IP67 ruggedness rating (including the ports) for fully waterproof and dust-tight performance.

· Wide operating temperatures of -20°C to 60°C (-4°F to 140°F).

· 4G/LTE high-speed data, Wi-Fi, BT and NFC.

· Superior built-in u-blox GNSS receiver for precise navigation using GPS, GLONASS, Galileo or BeiDou.

· Dual cameras, including a 13-megapixel rear-facing, and a 5-megapixel front-facing

· A powerful all-day, field-replaceable battery

· HDMI-out via pogo pin connector for docking the tablet in the office

· Multiple enterprise-focused accessories—including vehicle mount solutions, desk top cradle, rotating hand strap, carry cases, pole mount, and more—for efficient field work in a variety of industries.

· MaxGo mobile device management software to quickly apply custom settings to multiple devices.

“All new devices will come with Android 11, but with this operating system upgrade current users can can keep the familiar and functional device they know, but also add the improved security features of Android 11,” says Johan Hed, director of product management at Handheld Group. “Plus, the Enterprise Recommended certification proves that the Algiz RT8 has been certified by Google to meet stringent enterprise-focused requirements, adding an extra level of quality assurance for our customers.”

Waystone, a leading provider of institutional governance, risk, administration and compliance services to the asset management industry, announced today that it is to substantially increase its Ireland-based workforce by creating up to 100 additional new roles in Cashel, Co. Tipperary, following its recent growth.

The newly created Cashel-based roles will span global operations and support functions with services including KYC & MLRO, Regulatory Reporting, Tax Reporting, Fund Registration, Corporate Secretarial, People & Development, Finance, Operational Risk, Compliance Services, Fund Administration, Relationship Management, Project Management, Client Onboarding and Corporate Solutions.

The Cashel operation is central to the evolution of the Waystone Group and will continue to grow and deliver operational scale while continually attracting and developing talent from across the region. This announcement reflects Waystone’s significant growth over the past year and the broadening of its service offering including the launch of Waystone Compliance Solutions and its recent agreements with KB Associates and Centaur Fund Services, both of whom are headquartered in Ireland.

This project is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.

Welcoming Waystone’s announcement, Minister for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, Robert Troy TD, said: “I am delighted that Waystone plans to create up to 100 new roles at its Cashel site over the next 18 months. These additional jobs will be a welcome boost to Co. Tipperary and will increase the Cashel headcount to nearly 200 employees. The successful growth that Waystone has experienced in recent years is reflective of the wealth of highly skilled and talented people that the Mid-West region and Ireland more broadly has to offer. I wish the team every continued success in this new chapter.”

Minister of State at the Department of Finance Sean Fleming TD said: “I am delighted to welcome this expansion by Waystone which is an important endorsement for growing regional international financial services operations, which is a priority of our Ireland for Finance strategy. I wish the firm well in the next stage of their development plans and I hope their success in Cashel will encourage further investment in the regions by international financial services firms.”

Waystone recently re-opened its operation in Cashel following an extensive refurbishment and expansion project with the addition of 4,500 sq ft of space, bringing its total floor space to 11,000 sq ft. The project included a significant upgrade of facilities and branding throughout and is designed to accommodate its growing staff numbers with a view to the job creation announced today. Over the next 18 months, the new roles will bring Waystone’s headcount in Cashel to approaching 200.

Nick Wheeler, Global Head of Centralisation at Waystone, comments, “Ireland has a strong and globally-recognised international funds and financial services industry with a wealth of highly-skilled professionals and we are delighted to be able to continue our expansion in Tipperary with the announcement of up to 100 new roles covering a wide array of financial services disciplines.

Waystone’s Cashel-based operation is central to the Group’s international growth strategy and the quality of people we have employed has made our commitment and growth in Tipperary a very easy decision. Our Cashel operation reopened last month following a 4,500 sq ft expansion and refurbishment providing us with significant room for future growth. The facility now provides our growing workforce with a high-grade, flexible workspace and feedback from staff has been extremely positive.”

Earlier this month, Waystone announced that its Dublin headquarters would be moving to a new flagship location in Dublin 4 later this year, where it will occupy four floors and 52,000 sq ft of space in the prestigious 35 Shelbourne Road development. Waystone now has a presence in thre...

Over 5,000 portfolio managers are already building their reputation scores on testnet for a headstart once Pollen goes live. Here’s why you should join them and how:

Pollen has reached a milestone this week: 5,000+ Pollenators have now signed up to the Pollen Pre-Release on testnet and started building their trading reputation.

This is, of course, vital to the project as it puts the finishing touches on Pollen Virtual — the first module of the Pollen ecosystem, due on mainnet at the end of this month. The feedback Pollenators provide at the beta stage will be reflected in the final product, and their trading decisions will form the first strands of collective intelligence that jumpstart Pollen’s ecosystem.

Here are the key elements for why active participation in the Pre-Release is important to you, the participant:

Test the ground: This is your chance to test your trading strategies entirely risk-free, by simply staking the 500 test PLN that every subscriber to the Pollen Pre-Release receives. Considering the market conditions today, trying before buying can save you a pretty penny.

Fame and glory: You can showcase your trading capabilities to your fellow Pollenators and share your scores with the community. Take it as a form of marketing yourself, if you will — Pollen provides you with the tools to build your reputation and attract a following on the platform and beyond.

Reputation, reputation, reputation: Pollen may be on testnet, but every decision counts, because the reputation score you earn now will be DIRECTLY ported to mainnet. This means that in joining Pollen’s 5,000 early-bird Pollenators, you get a head start up the Pollen leaderboard, thus increasing your chances of earning more real PLN as the project goes live this month.

Ready to join? Follow the instructions below, or visit beta.pollen.id to check out the platform.

Equinix, Inc., the world’s digital infrastructurecompany™, has announced the launch of a community project that will see it explore new ways to reuse waste data centre heat for vital public infrastructure in Dublin’s Blanchardstown area. Working with Dublin’s energy agency, Codema, a feasibility study will explore how waste heat from Equinix’s data centres could be used to support important facilities in the local community, which includes a hospital, university and local aquatics centre.

The project is part of Equinix’s commitment to drive greater energy efficiencies in its own operations, as well as for the wider community in which it operates. The company has pledged to become climate neutral globally – and in Ireland – by 2030. This will be achieved, in part, by innovative projects and initiatives – such as district heating – that will support the circular economy.

District heating delivers low-carbon heat to buildings through a network of insulated underground pipelines. It is fuel agnostic, which helps to drive down heating costs and ensures security of supply.

In the last three years alone, Equinix, which has four data centres operating in West Dublin, has reduced its Irish data centre carbon emissions by 16%.

This is one of a number of initiatives deployed by Codema to reduce Dublin’s CO2 emissions. By collaborating with Codema on the sustainability project, Equinix hopes to further its progress towards climate neutrality in Ireland while also benefitting the community in which it operates.

Maurice Mortell, Equinix’s Sustainability Lead in EMEA and Managing Director for Ireland, said: “At Equinix, we are relentlessly exploring innovative ways to achieve our commitment to carbon neutrality by 2030. As sustainability lead in EMEA, I have been involved in a number of groundbreaking projects to ensure we are continuously innovating and striving to achieve this goal. Our partnership with Codema will help us to explore new ways in which we can not only work towards our own decarbonisation, but also benefit the community in which we operate and contribute to the circular economy.

“As the world’s digital infrastructure company, we are committed to driving steady economic growth while reducing our carbon footprint – and the footprints of the organisations we work with.

“Codema has been doing admirable work in its goal to decarbonise Dublin. We are delighted to be working with them and look forward to learning how we can continue to support them on their important carbon zero mission.”

Donna Gartland, CEO, Codema, said: “Codema’s mission is to lead the low-carbon transition in Dublin, and one of the ways we have been successfully doing this is by identifying and implementing new innovative solutions to help reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. We have enough waste and renewable heat available in Dublin to completely move all buildings away from fossil fuel heating, and working with progressive and ambitious industry stakeholders like Equinix enables us to bring these district heating projects to reality.”

See more stories here.

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Irish Tech News are Ireland’s No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland’s No.1 Tech Podcast too.

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Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at [email protected] now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience.

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As part of the European Year of Youth 2022 programme, President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has announced a brand-new 3D digital “Voice your Vision” Platform: an interactive platform where young Irish people can record and upload personal voice messages on issues such as mental health, inclusion, diversity, climate change or the future of Europe.

Ursula von der Leyen has emphasised that Europe must listen carefully to its young people, to better shape the Union in their mould.

The objective of “Voice your Vision” is to empower young Irish people and young Europeans in general, from all backgrounds and corners of the continent, to voice their own vision of the future – ranging from issues of employment, inclusion, peace and security, to climate change, education, mental health, and more.

According to EU Youth Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, the voice recordings will be listened to by policy makers across the EU and will be used as a basis to inform future EU policy.

In the wake of the global pandemic and faced with the ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, young people’s voices are becoming ever more relevant. To this end, “Voice your Vision” functions as a cutting edge, interactive voices space that literally gives people the opportunity to unmute and record their very own, personalised message, and share their opinions and ideas about the topics they find most relevant.

The platform has been developed to cater to any message, in all EU official languages. Once added, each voice generates its own, unique 3D waveform interacting with every other recording on the platform – allowing everyone to listen to all the voices that have been uploaded from across Europe, in any language, on any device.

In EU Youth Commissioner Mariya Gabriel’s words,

“’Voice your Vision’ is personified through a young, meaningful, dynamic, and open spirit of co-creation defined through the Year of Youth. One that also functions as a timely enabler for Europe’s Youth to show-up, speak-up and share their concerns and ideas about the future. ’Voice your Vision’ could not have come at a more relevant time for all youngsters, not only as European citizens – but also as members of a society that is now, more than ever, experiencing testing times.”

On the importance of the 2022 European Year of Youth itself, Commissioner Gabriel added:

“We ask all young people to get involved and engage now. Their voices are a vital component of Europe’s journey to growth, knowledge, innovation, opportunity and better, more relevant youth-oriented solutions. We will listen attentively and ensure that youth policies can be developed in more open and collaborative spaces, and that all voices are listened to and addressed this year and beyond.”

As a key part of the European Year of Youth campaign Member States are contributing nationally and locally to promote young people’s engagement in many different activities. In Ireland, more than 34 activities have already been organised under the European Year of Youth, and according to Emma Grainger of Leargas, national coordinators of the European Year of Youth in Ireland, 70 more will happen in the coming months.

The new Voice your Vision platform will transition into these activities and will also perform as a central characteristic of the European Year of Youth’s Legacy, beyond 2022 – with young people’s voices acting as a driver of change and co-developer of future policy.

More about Irish Tech News

Irish Tech News are Ireland’s No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland’s No.1 Tech Podcast too.

You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here:

If you’d like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at [email protected] now to discuss.

Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at [email protected] now to find out more about how we can help you reach our a...

Today, the Commission is proposing new EU legislation to prevent and combat child sexual abuse online. With 85 million pictures and videos depicting child sexual abuse reported worldwide in 2021 alone, and many more going unreported, child sexual abuse is pervasive.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the issue, with the Internet Watch foundation noting a 64% increase in reports of confirmed child sexual abuse in 2021 compared to the previous year. The current system based on voluntary detection and reporting by companies has proven to be insufficient to adequately protect children and, in any case, will no longer be possible once the interim solution currently in place expires. Up to 95% of all reports of child sexual abuse received in 2020 came from one company, despite clear evidence that the problem does not only exist on one platform.

To effectively address the misuse of online services for the purposes of child sexual abuse, clear rules are needed, with robust conditions and safeguards. The proposed rules will oblige providers to detect, report and remove child sexual abuse material on their services. Providers will need to assess and mitigate the risk of misuse of their services and the measures taken must be proportionate to that risk and subject to robust conditions and safeguards.

A new independent EU Centre on Child Sexual Abuse (EU Centre) will facilitate the efforts of service providers by acting as a hub of expertise, providing reliable information on identified material, receiving and analysing reports from providers to identify erroneous reports and prevent them from reaching law enforcement, swiftly forwarding relevant reports for law enforcement action and by providing support to victims.

The new rules will help rescue children from further abuse, prevent material from reappearing online, and bring offenders to justice. Those rules will include:

Mandatory risk assessment and risk mitigation measures: Providers of hosting or interpersonal communication services will have to assess the risk that their services are misused to disseminate child sexual abuse material or for the solicitation of children, known as grooming. Providers will also have to propose risk mitigation measures.

Targeted detection obligations, based on a detection order: Member States will need to designate national authorities in charge of reviewing the risk assessment. Where such authorities determine that a significant risk remains, they can ask a court or an independent national authority to issue a detection order for known or new child sexual abuse material or grooming. Detection orders are limited in time, targeting a specific type of content on a specific service.

Strong safeguards on detection: Companies having received a detection order will only be able to detect content using indicators of child sexual abuse verified and provided by the EU Centre. Detection technologies must only be used for the purpose of detecting child sexual abuse. Providers will have to deploy technologies that are the least privacy-intrusive in accordance with the state of the art in the industry, and that limit the error rate of false positives to the maximum extent possible.

Clear reporting obligations: Providers that have detected online child sexual abuse will have to report it to the EU Centre.

Effective removal: National authorities can issue removal orders if the child sexual abuse material is not swiftly taken down. Internet access providers will also be required to disable access to images and videos that cannot be taken down, e.g., because they are hosted outside the EU in non-cooperative jurisdictions.

Reducing exposure to grooming: The rules require app stores to ensure that children cannot download apps that may expose them to a high risk of solicitation of children.

Solid oversight mechanisms and judicial redress: Detection orders will be issued by courts or independent national authorities. To minimise the risk of erroneous detectio...

The shortlist for 2022 .IE Digital Town Awards was announced by.IE, the managers of Ireland’s trusted online .ie address.

Following a competitive selection process by an independent judging panel, the wide-ranging list of shortlisted projects includes themes such as digital equity, closing the digital divide, emergency response, digital infrastructure, and digitisation of culture and oral traditions.

.IE Digital Town Awards

Now in its second year, the .IE Digital Town Awards honour local town projects and people that are using digital innovation, technologies, and digital-first thinking for the betterment of towns, citizens, and services in the community.

The awards were launched as part of a €1 million investment announced by.IE in 2021. There are 7 award categories, including three special awards recognising a Digital Changemaker, Digital Rising Star and a Digital Local Hero. An Overall Winner will also be announced at the gala awards ceremony next month.

This year’s shortlisted projects cover the full spectrum of idea development and readiness, including those who are early in their digital journey as well as established, sophisticated projects. All are in with the chance of winning one of 13 awards and a share of the €100,000 total prize fund.

During the shortlisting process, the judging panel looked for digitally motivated community leaders who demonstrated digital thinking to creatively problem-solve and develop innovative ideas that disrupt and enhance towns and communities.

The shortlisted Projects

Category: Digital Education

· Sligo: Using digital tools to prove inclusive student support in higher education

· Limerick: Scoutus Interruptus: How Digital Technology Helped Keep Us Scouting Through The Time of Covid

· Dún Laoghaire Town: DigitalHQ clg: National centre for digitalisation of localities and their small businesses

· Castlebar: Digital West

· Balbriggan: Smart Balbriggan Transition Year Challenge

Category: Digital Tourism, sponsored by AIB Merchant Services

· Gleann Cholm Cille: Building a digital cultural infrastructure for our community

· Ballyvaughan: Linking the physical and digital worlds via interactive signage

· Ballincollig: Gunpowder Mills – Mobile Phone App

· Kildare Town: Innovative Digital Tourism in Ireland’s Ancient East

· Cork: Cork Tourist Guide

Category: Community Digital, sponsored by Western Development Commission

· Crumlin: Connecting Crumlin’s Community

· Limerick: Tiny Little Histories

· East Galway: Galway Wild Geese

· Castleisland: Castleisland Market Town – a new digital age

· Roscommon: Roscommon Rapid Response

· Cootehill: St Patrick’s Day celebration

· Ballybough: Pride of Place

Category: Digital Business, sponsored by Vodafone

· Piltown: Taking charge of our Digital Future

· Westport: Where no Westport business gets left behind

· Carndonagh: Digital Town Gift Card Scheme

· Dun Laoghaire: National centre for digitalisation of localities and their small businesses

Category: Digital Rising Star

· Murroe: Scouts Interruptus: How Digital Technology Helped Keep Us Scouting Through The Time of Covid

· Castleisland: Castleisland Market Town – a new digital age

· Urlingford: Town Team

· Cootehill: St Patrick’s Day celebration

Category: Digital Changemaker, sponsored by Connected Hubs

· Piltown: Taking charge of our Digital Future

· Dingle Peninsula: Digitisation driving sustainability

· Roscommon: Roscommon Rapid Response

· Drimnagh: Tidy Drimnagh

Category: Digital Local Hero

· Eoin Costello, Dun Laoghaire Town

· Brian Mulligan, Sligo

· Mary Fleming, Crumlin

· Maeve McGrath, Limerick

The overall winners will be announced at the gala awards ceremony which will take place on 8 June.

Digital Innovation

Commenting on the announcement, Oonagh McCutcheon, National Director of the.IE Digital Town Programme said:

“We are proud to announce our shortlist of projects for this years.IE Digital Town Awards. Last year’s winners set the bar exceptionally high, and this year we are again seeing great exa...

Press releases are a vital communication tool for any company. We know it’s hard to stand out but before you ever worry about differentiating yourself, you need to concentrate on getting the core elements of any communication you issue correct.

Irish Tech News has been helping businesses get their news out to our audience for over 11 years now. We recently passed the amazing milestone of having published 20,000 articles and as you can imagine, we’ve received more than a few press releases in that time.

Like everything in this world, you come across people and companies who are really good at creating engaging and informative content but likewise, there are plenty out there who could do with some help.

Over the years we’ve gained a great understanding, backed by statistics, of what works and what doesn’t. It is in everyone’s interest, including our own, to publish engaging content that people will want to read and ultimately interact with. Great content is a win for everyone and we want to help you produce it.

Lucky for you, that is what this article is all about. Whether you are a startup setting out on your first content creation journey or you are a seasoned pro who’s wondering why more outlets aren’t publishing your content, there is something in here for you.

Our Founder John Armstrong recently had a chat with Kamil Kus from Irish Directory. IrishDirectory is a one-of-a-kind growth and lead generation platform that focuses on Local Businesses and Services. During their chat, they cover the 10 most important points you need to be on top of for your content to have the best chance of being published.

We hope this has helped you out in some way and the suggested improvements help you get your news out there to a wider audience and with better results. If you would like a copy of the slides or need help on any of the topics covered, you can reach out to John via [email protected].

If you want to find out more about Irish Directory, Kamil has appeared on our Podcast with Ronan before and you can take a listen to that here. Alternatively, you can check out their website to find out more here:/

Integrity360, one of the UK and Ireland’s fastest-growing and largest independent pure-play cyber security specialists, has announced that it has been named as a Representative Vendor in the 2022 Gartner Market Guide for Managed Security Services (MSS) for the second time in a row. Integrity360 is one of just two Irish-headquartered vendors named on the list.

Integrity360’s MSS offering combines industry-leading cyber security expertise with cutting-edge technologies and standards, using an agile approach to mitigate risks and deliver actionable outcomes to its clients – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Integrity360’s range of managed services provide a full end-to-end set of solutions including Managed Detection and Response, Managed Threat Detection, Managed SIEM, Managed SOC, Threat Intelligence, Incident Response and extensive Security Technology Management offerings including Managed Firewall and Managed IDS/IPS. The group is experiencing very high demand for its services and expects MSS revenues to grow upwards of 20% per annum for the foreseeable future.

Gartner includes a range of providers in the research to ensure coverage from a geographical, vertical and capabilities perspective. Those organisations listed are those that are visible to Gartner clients based on inquiries and represent relevant levels of both global distribution and size.

Richard Ford, Chief Technology Officer, Integrity360: “We are thrilled to be named as a Representative Vendor by Gartner for the second time in a row. We have continued to significantly evolve our service portfolio in recent years backed by the highest levels of accreditations and technical expertise. We believe Integrity360 has the best people delivering cutting-edge services and solutions to customers and being named in the report is testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire team.”

See more stories here.

More about Irish Tech News

Irish Tech News are Ireland’s No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland’s No.1 Tech Podcast too.

You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here:

If you’d like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at [email protected] now to discuss.

Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at [email protected] now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience.

You can also find and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.