Dublin has been selected as the location for the 37th International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) in December 2016. The event, which will be attended by 1,500 global delegates, is expected to generate €2m for the local economy.

Running since 1980, ICIS is the main conference for the Association of Information Systems, which has more than 4,000 members in 95 countries and is the leading professional body for information systems academics.

“This is a significant coup for Dublin and reflects Ireland’s growing reputation as a global technology centre,” explained Professor Brian Fitzgerald of Lero, the Irish Software Research Centre.

“Bidding to host the ICIS conference is very competitive and Dublin won out against Munich, Vienna and Istanbul,” Fitzgerald said.

Digital innovation at the crossroads

The 37th ICIS will take place at the Convention Centre in the heart of Dublin. The conference is supported by Science Foundation Ireland and Fáilte Ireland, as well as by leading companies in the IT sector such as Intel, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Realex Payments and SOSV.

The theme of the 2016 conference is Digital Innovation at the Crossroads.

Fitzgerald chaired the bid with Professor John Mooney of Pepperdine University, California. The bids were presented recently at a meeting in Orlando, Florida.

“Eamon DeValera famously referred to the traditional Irish melting-pot of the crossroads, where Irish people gathered to converse, reflect, empathise, and celebrate, thereby bringing disparate groups together,” added Professor Mooney.

“The Information Systems academic discipline finds itself at several ‘crossroads’ as different past influences converge.”

Convention Centre image via Shutterstock