High-Tech skilled workers

Remote working in hi-tech sectors unlocking development potential and promoting innovative ecosystem

This study will concentrate on the genesis of remote workers-led new ventures in Ireland’s second tier and rural regions. Ireland has lately become the hotbed of tech innovation in Europe, with Dublin emerging as the magnet of most investments from global tech multinationals. However, a few other minor cities have been able to spark local entrepreneurship in tech-based sectors. Particularly, Galway and Cork are developing their own entrepreneurial ecosystems, partially relying on the local presence of major firms (Apple in Cork; Boston Scientific in Galway) and the growing concentration of skilled professionals through remote working arrangements. Away from the capital’s buzz, Cork and Galway are capitalizing on the growing stock of local tech knowledge to support the evolution of their local ecosystems.

Focusing on the biomedical (Galway) and software and blockchain sectors (Cork), the two cities are aiming to attract remote workers and aspiring entrepreneurs thanks to the adoption of remote working by numerous tech organizations. Particularly, as the cost of living in Dublin is rising fast, we expect a growing number of freelances and aspiring entrepreneurs to relocate to secondary places like Cork and Galway. Unlike other remote territories in Ireland, Cork and Galway can offer up-to-date infrastructures and supporting services and give remote workers the possibility to tap into already existing entrepreneurial communities. REMAKING aims to shed light on the mechanisms whereby innovative knowledge circulates thanks to remote working and enables the genesis of new economic activities away from major innovation hotbeds.