10th Annual IT and Telecommunications Conference gets under way at LYIT today

The 10th Annual Information Technology and Telecommunications Conference gets under way at Letterkenny Institute of Technology today.
The event, which the college says is now more relevant than ever, will hear from a number of guests over the next few days, including Tanaiste Mary Coughlan.
The conference opens this afternoon with a number of papers being presented, including a session on computer security. However, the centrepiece of the conference is likely to be a discusson on research funding tomorrow morning.
Organiser Jim Morrison says in the current economic climate research will play an increasingly important role in generating economic growth, but the availability and distribution of research funds within the island and across Europe has become increasingly competitive.
Tomorrow’s discussion will ask if research spending in a small area like Ireland be focused in a few selected centres, or is there a role for academic institutions in the regions?.
The discussion in the CoLab Building will be preceded by a speech from Educations Minister and Tánaiste, Mary Coughlan on the future of research in the Higher Education sector.