Next Generation Government Symposium in Tallinn to focus on future technologies

TALLINN - The international conference "Next Generation Government Symposium", which began on Thursday, brings together stakeholders from academia, government and the private sector in a symposium format to better understand next generation government issues from interdisciplinary perspectives in technology, education, government and law.

The conference is organized by Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) in cooperation with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, which have involved the best experts on the digital state from Tallinn University and the University of Tartu, spokespeople for TalTech said.

According to Ingrid Pappel, head of the digital state research group at TalTech, this event is needed to create a better connection between universities and the public sector.

"Our public sector is very innovative in creating systems based on artificial intelligence, such as kratts, and other technological developments, but there are still many topics in the field of the digital state that academia can study in depth," Pappel said.

She added that the role of universities is to look at the long term and assess our needs in 10 or 30 years' time. According to Pappel, this is the place where a university can best cooperate with the public and private sectors, pilot applications and test different methods.

Luukas Kristjan Ilves, deputy secretary general of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications for digital development, said that today, the Estonian state is in a situation where we need a science-based approach to dealing with data and developing information systems.

"As a digital state, we have a responsibility to make informed decisions aimed towards the future today, which will help to create the services necessary for our citizens, cut red tape, create value from data and serve as an example," Ilves said.

He added that the ministry is creating a database of research topics from which universities can obtain important research questions and topics.

"The organization of the conference will definitely promote cooperation between universities, as the topics are interdisciplinary and all parties can highlight their strengths," Ilves said.

The two-day symposium is taking place at the Tallink Spa and Conference Hotel, includes presentations as well as workshops, and covers topics such as data analysis, machine learning and artificial intelligence, open digital society, cyber security, blockchain technology, digital competences and culture, and the digital transformation of government services.

Presentations will be made at the conference by Robert Krimmer from the University of Tartu, Kai Pata from Tallinn University, Olaf Maennel from TalTech, Merja Bauters from Tallinn University, Luukas Kristjan Ilves from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, Arne Ansper from Cybernetica, Kelli Turmann from Biotoopia and Sylvain Rouri from OVHcloud.