Recordings and Information about NHO24 – May 15, 2024

Digital Municipalities, in collaboration with Ríkiskaup (Icelandic State Trading Centre), are hosting a joint spring conference on public innovation.

• Date: May 15 (full-day event)

• Location: Hilton Reykjavík Nordica

• Theme: The Public Sector × Artificial Intelligence

• Registration: Here

• This event is part of Iceland Innovation Week

An Event for Public Buyers Aiming to Go Further with Artificial Intelligence

The presentations at NHO24 are intended to inspire public sector buyers and encourage the purposeful use of AI-based solutions to strengthen public services.

Program

Doors open: 08:30

Conference starts: 09:10

Morning Program: Public Use of Artificial Intelligence

Moderator:
Jóhanna Vigdís Guðmundsdóttir
Director of Business Development, Sales and Marketing – Defend Iceland

Opening Address

Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir
Minister of Higher Education, Industry and Innovation

Áslaug Arna has served as Minister since November 2021. She is a strong advocate for technological development and innovation in Iceland and has worked on advancing Iceland’s national AI action plan along with other strategies related to government data management. In her opening remarks, she will discuss the importance of these initiatives and how they can contribute to better services and increased efficiency in public administration.

Speaker

Niall McDonagh – Google
Director, Public Sector Google Cloud EMEA

Before joining Google, Niall worked for more than sixteen years at Microsoft leading cloud solutions for the public sector, with a particular focus on healthcare and education. He has deep expertise in the role of AI in transforming and innovating public services, which will be the focus of his presentation.

Speaker

Oliver Desquesses – Microsoft
General Manager, Public Sector Western Europe

Oliver previously led the public sector division for EMEA at Google Cloud and oversaw cloud strategy in healthcare and education. He will discuss how integrating AI with cloud solutions can deliver major improvements in public services.

Speaker

Fredric Wall – NVIDIA
Senior Director for Enterprise AI in EMEA

Fredric leads business development for enterprise AI at NVIDIA. His presentation will focus on building compute infrastructure to support the adoption of AI solutions and how organizations can leverage advanced computing and data centers to improve public services.

Panel Discussion

Participants:

• Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir – Chair, Association of Icelandic Municipalities

• Lilja Dögg Jónsdóttir – CEO, Almannarómur

• Niall McDonagh – Google Cloud

• Oliver Desquesses – Microsoft

• Fredric Wall – NVIDIA

Coffee Break – 10:50

Speaker

Linda Heimisdóttir – Miðeind / OpenAI
CEO of Miðeind at OpenAI

Linda is a leading figure in Iceland in the development and application of AI and will discuss opportunities for AI to benefit the public good.

Speaker

Benedikt Geir Jóhannesson – Skatturinn (Iceland Revenue and Customs)
Head of Data Science

Benedikt has worked on implementing AI within the tax system to increase fairness and efficiency. He will present practical uses of AI in public administration.

Speaker

Gunnar Haukur Stefánsson – National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police
Head of Software Development

Gunnar Haukur leads AI adoption in law enforcement and will explain how the technology is being used, particularly in a new application currently under development.

Speaker

Adeline Tracz & Sigurður Þórarinsson – Landspítali (National University Hospital)
Leader of Transformation and Innovation | Director of Innovation and Technology

They will present how AI and innovation are being used at the hospital to reorganize healthcare services, improve quality of care, and maximize operational efficiency.

Speaker

Sverrir Geirdal & Dr. Prof. Morris Riedel
European Digital Innovation Hub & National Competence Center for HPC & AI

They will discuss how their initiatives help Icelandic society utilize advanced technologies and AI.

Lunch and Networking – 12:15

Afternoon Program: Digital Municipalities

Opening

Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir
Chair of the Association of Icelandic Municipalities

Digital Municipalities – One Coordinated System

Jóhanna Ýr Jóhannsdóttir – Chair of the Municipal Digital Council
Fjóla María Ágústsdóttir – Leader of Digital Municipalities

Municipal cooperation on digital transformation has been formalized since 2020 and focuses on improving digital skills, user-friendly services, modern technical infrastructure, and collaboration with the national government.

Digital Iceland and Cooperation with Municipalities

Birna Íris Jónsdóttir
Executive Director, Digital Iceland

Iceland.is Application System and Centralized Application Processing

• Valdís Eyjólfsdóttir – Project Manager, Akranes Municipality

• Harpa Sólbjört Másdóttir – Information Manager, Akranes Municipality

• Björgvin Sigurðsson – Project and Product Manager, Digital Municipalities

Digital Building Permits

Baldur Kristjánsson – Kolibri
Auður Ævarr Sveinsdóttir – Housing and Construction Authority

A new digital interface for building permit applications aims to standardize procedures across municipalities and improve transparency, safety, and efficiency.

Innovation within Municipalities

Sif Sturludóttir – Digital Leader, Mosfellsbær

She will discuss how Mosfellsbær has implemented numerous digital projects and improved work processes during the past year.

AI Solutions for Digital Municipalities

Hrund Valgeirsdóttir – Project Manager, Digital Municipalities

A digital transformation team from the Association of Icelandic Municipalities has introduced two AI solutions based on ChatGPT technology:

• one for residents

• one for municipal staff.

Coffee Break – 14:40

Digital Libraries

Ingimar Þór Friðriksson – Head of IT, Kópavogur Municipality

Presentation of a new system allowing library users to pay fines, purchase library cards, and access digital cards independently through a payment gateway.

Microsoft 365 Implementation

Birgir Lúðvíksson – Digital Leader, Reykjavík City

Overview of how Reykjavík uses Power Automate for various operational processes.

Closing of NHO24

Þórdís Sveinsdóttir
Head of Development, Association of Icelandic Municipalities

Topic: Artificial Intelligence – Practical Technological Innovation

Networking Cocktail – 16:00

Participation

• Limited seating available

• In-person (Nordica, food and drinks included): 8,900 ISK

• Online streaming: 2,900 ISK

Registration is available on the Digital Municipalities website.