Today we had the opportunity to work in our chosen groups for our consulting project. I have the opportunity to be working with Ian Donnolly, Madelyn Och, and Sumati Shrivastava for this project. My group is working on AI and the Future of Co-work Development, and we had the opportunity to meet with Majella Orr, who is the manager of Gteic-which is a co-working space in Carrigart, Ireland that provides an office for those who are working remotely. In order to prepare for our initial meeting with Majella my team met prior to our virtual meeting to discuss our plan and goals to get out of the meeting. We developed questions for our client; we also researched our client and Gteic prior to our meeting.

During our preparation, we were focused on ensuring that we were addressing the needs of Gteic and we began brainstorming questions in order to stay on the right track. During the meeting, we heard about some of the difficulties faced by businesses in Carrigart. For example, one major issue is seasonality. The issue is that during the offseason there is little to no foot traffic or tourism in the area, on the contrary, during the peak season -from April to October- there are many repeat customers who visit during those months. My team began exploring possible options for Gteic, and solutions that can apply to other local businesses. For Gteic specifically, we have touched upon ideas such as partnerships with other small businesses, organizing more events in order to increase community outreach, the possibility of integrating new technology, and reaching out to other organizations to provide space for individuals who wish to go on holiday while also maintaining their work. My team and myself are truly looking forward to continuing our research and consultation over the next few weeks!