#FourMinuteFridays - This Week at the PorterShed

It's December, and that means we are well and truly into the Christmas spirit here at the PorterShed. Our trees are up (across each of our three locations!), the fairy lights are on, and our TVs are alive with festive scenes. But, we're not quite ready to relax just yet! The past five days have been incredibly busy...and we love to see it. So, let's dive in and show you what life is like at the PorterShed.

On Monday, we welcomed Asia Matters to PorterShed a Dó at Market Street. The event was all about how to build Ireland's future with Asia, and there was a fantastic turnout. With both in-person and virtual attendees, there was a terrific mix of people to listen, engage, and mingle before, during, and after the event. The innovation space was alive with the hum of fascinating discussions, interesting questions, and more as Asia Matters hosted from the stage. Why not check out some of the photos here of the event in full flow!

Tuesday saw our much-anticipated turn to host the Western Development Commission ARISE Social Enterprise event at PorterShed a Dó. Panellists included BounceBack Recycling's Manager, Martin Ward; Teen Turn's Regional Projects Coordinator, Iseult Mangan; and Carers Network Ireland's Ronah Corcoran. They each spoke very well about their own social enterprises, the challenges they have faced, as well as offering feedback to those considering getting involved in social enterprise in the future. Business trainer Declan Droney chaired the discussion before he also led a social workshop about the lean canvas. It was amazing to have such a great turnout on the day, and we're already looking forward to the final event in the series at Donegal's BASE Enterprise Centre in January 2023.

PorterShed co-founder, Professor John Breslin, hosted the Dome 4.0 and OntoCommons joint meeting at PorterShed a Dó during the week. There was a great crowd in attendance as discussions were had around digital open marketplaces, data documentation, and more. Our very own Anthony Shaughnessy was on hand to deliver the production expertise on the day, and it was a roaring success.

On Thursday evening, Kobalt arrived at our newest building to showcase their amazing technology. Kobalt are essentially a royalty-processing business, but they dove deep into the reasons behind what they do, the technology they use to make sure artists are paid fairly for their work, and more. We had some 60 people in the room on the night, and everybody was fascinated by the four talks that Kobalt presented. Kobalt already have employees in Tipperary and Dublin, but they mentioned that they do like Galway and are interested in creating relationships with Irish university graduates in the future. A very interesting event!

MADRA, the amazing dog rescue and adoption charity, are having their annual art auction at PorterShed's Bowling Green on Saturday. The auction will be taking place from 3 pm, and it's going to be a really fun afternoon in aid of a great cause.

Before we let you go, a few things to signpost:

Each week, we have a weekly 'What's Happening' email for members that picks out some of the key highlights to come from the week ahead, so if you'd like to be added to the mailing list and be in-the-know before anything happens, contact [email protected].

Our?Twitter,?Facebook, and?Instagram?accounts -?come join our social family to keep up to date on all that happens every week. Plus, you should also check out?our website?to find out information about membership and more....and?make sure you're subscribed to our mailing list?to keep abreast of all the articles and interviews we're doing with founders and start-up leaders!

So, that's a wrap on some of the highlights from the past five days - it's been busy and enjoyable, as always! We love what we do at the PorterShed, and we always welcome new faces, so pay us a visit any time for a tour or to find out more information.

Make sure to stop by next week to read more?#FourMinuteFridays?-?you just never know what updates we'll have for you then.

Until then!