Tag: Innovation Hub

Cybersecurity in the spotlight as Edinburgh Napier’s Innovation Hub hosts flagship global cyber conference

Napier’s Cyber Academy is organising the sixth International Conference on Big Data, Cybersecurity & Critical Infrastructure

Edinburgh Napier University’s recently launched Innovation Hub, in partnership with the University’s established The Cyber Academy, is to host a global annual cybersecurity conference at its Craiglockhart campus next month.

Now in its sixth year, the International Conference on Big Data, Cybersecurity & Critical Infrastructure annually gathers leaders in the field of cybersecurity — from industry and academia, across Scotland and beyond — to share the latest emerging big data and cybersecurity insights, as well as discuss the themes of ‘digital twins’ and ‘critical infrastructure’.

As well as showcasing the latest cybersecurity spin-out businesses that have emerged from Edinburgh Napier University in the last year (TrueDeploy and LastingAsset), well-known global businesses will participate in this industry-focused conference on 11 May 2023.

Some of the confirmed speakers and panellists include:

Prof Sokratis Katsikas (Director of the Norwegian Centre for Cybersecurity in Critical Sectors), Tim McNulty (Group Chief Security Officer, Barclays), Beck Pinkard (MD, Global Cyber Operations, Barclays), Mark Cunningham-Dickie (Quorum Cyber), Mark Mitchell (FORTINET), Keith McDevitt (Scottish Government), Rory Alsop (Tesco Bank/CIISec), Harry McLaren (SenseOn), Elisabeth Momola (SGN), Paula Kershaw (CCO & Cyber Resilience, Barclays).

As well as representatives from Edinburgh Napier University:

Prof Bill Buchanan OBE, Prof Nick Antonopoulos (VP Research), Prof Berk Canberk, Prof Leandros Maglaras, Nanik Ramchandani (Royal Society Entrepreneur-in-Residence), Andy McGoff (Director of Finance & Operations), Prof Matthew Broadbent.

This symposium is being convened by the Manager of the Cyber Academy, Basil Manoussos, who has extensive experience in digital forensic investigations, as a practitioner and director of Strathclyde Forensics Ltd. He works with organisations such as the Law Society of Scotland and Interpol – and was twice shortlisted at the Scottish Cyber Awards as a “Cyber Evangelist of the Year”.

Explaining more about the forthcoming global cybersecurity conference, Basil said: “This annual cybersecurity conference is our flagship event in our calendar.

“It has been growing in popularity over the years, attracting an ever-increasing number of attendees with an interest in hearing the latest news developments and emerging insights in cybersecurity, as well as having the opportunity to network and grow connections with fellow professionals in this field.

“We are honoured to welcome an inspiring line-up of great speakers and panellists from across the industry, academia and government, with Edinburgh’s Lord Provost, The Right Honourable Robert Aldridge, officially open to this international conference.”

“As well as hearing from our own spin-outs and from industry cyber experts, we will also hear from one of the top lawyers in data protection at Chalmers Stewart LLP, Laura Irvine and Alexandr Chernykh, the official representative of the Ukrainian National Bar Association in Scotland, who will talk about GDPR, data protection and the role of IT law and blockchain legislation in Ukraine’s future.”

This event will take place at Edinburgh Napier University’s Craiglockhart campus, from 9:30am to 4:30pm, on Thursday 11 May 2023.

Advanced registration is essential via EventBrite.

12 January event to showcase Edinburgh Napier’s tech innovation

Edinburgh Napier University’s newly launched Innovation Hub will host a symposium to showcase the future of technology innovation in Scotland, as part of its effort to inspire academic research into reality.

The Hub has been set up to link the world-leading expertise and wide experience of ENU’s academics and researchers with external business communities from a wide variety of sectors, with a view of establishing commercial collaboration to support business growth and development.

Hosted at the Edinburgh Napier University’s Merchiston campus, this Symposium on Technology Innovation and Collaboration on 12 January will gather industry and academic leaders of Scottish tech, including keynote guest speaker, Mark Logan, Scottish Government’s Chief Entrepreneur. He has been instrumental in the success of several start-ups, including as Chief Operating Officer of Skyscanner, one of Europe’s most successful technology companies. 

This symposium will be convened by Professor Bill Buchanan OBE, Professor of Applied Cryptography at Edinburgh Napier University, who specialises in blockchain, cryptography, trust and digital identity. In 2017, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to cybersecurity.

Explaining more about the forthcoming symposium, Professor Buchanan said: “Scotland has produced two tech unicorns: Skyscanner and FanDuel. Where will the next one come from? Will it be a university spin-out or an innovative start-up?

“Over the past decade the university has spun-out a number of highly successful spin-outs, including Zonefox, which was acquired by Fortinet, Symphonic – acquired by Ping Identity – and Cyacomb, which has expanded rapidly in international markets.

“This symposium will not only showcase the latest tech innovation emerging from Edinburgh Napier, but also be a collaborative event with our industry partners who will share their knowledge and insights to inspire academics and researchers in the field of technology to engage in innovation and explore commercial collaboration.”

Presentations will include case studies of Edinburgh Napier success stories in the spin-out space, information on funding pathways, with inspirational talks about the opportunities out there and potential markets for the technologies we want to encourage our early career researchers to create.

In addition to Mark Logan’s talk on ‘The Future of Innovation in Scotland’, other guest talks will spotlight cybersecurity and fintech innovation, with presentations also on funding opportunities and research journeys.

Talks will feature guest speakers from: Scottish Enterprise; Innovate UK; DSTL; Interface Online; EU Horizon 2020; TrueDeploy; Zonefox; Cyacomb, and Edinburgh Napier’s Innovation Hub and Bright Red Triangle.

This event will take place at Edinburgh Napier University’s Merchiston campus, from 9:45am to 5pm, on Thursday 12 January 2023.

Advanced registration is essential via EventBrite.