Queen’s University Belfast backs cyber security sector with funding for 40 MSc scholarships

Queen’s University Belfast is helping secure Northern Ireland’s status as a global cyber security hub with the launch of 40 full scholarships worth more than half a million pounds for its specialist Applied Cyber Security MSc programme.
By The Newsroom
Published 15th May 2019, 13:35 BST
Pictured at the announcement of the scholarships are, from left, Jim Bannon, Allstate NI, Prof Adele Marshall, Queen's School of Maths and Physics, David Crozier, CSIT, George McKinney, Invest NI, and host Naomi McMullan.Pictured at the announcement of the scholarships are, from left, Jim Bannon, Allstate NI, Prof Adele Marshall, Queen's School of Maths and Physics, David Crozier, CSIT, George McKinney, Invest NI, and host Naomi McMullan.
Pictured at the announcement of the scholarships are, from left, Jim Bannon, Allstate NI, Prof Adele Marshall, Queen's School of Maths and Physics, David Crozier, CSIT, George McKinney, Invest NI, and host Naomi McMullan.

The move is a response to the growth of the sector, both in Northern Ireland and globally, and strong demand from industry for suitably qualified cyber security professionals.

As well as recent graduates, it is aimed at those already in employment who are interested in changing career to work in cyber security and will be carried out through a syllabus informed by the research undertaken at the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT), the UK’s largest cyber security research centre.

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The cyber security sector in the province is estimated to provide over £70m in annual salaries and commands some of the best rates of pay, not just in the wider economy but also in the tech industry.

Made up of both indigenous companies and inward investors, its stock has grown in the global cyber security world and Northern Ireland is now known to play host to a cluster of leading-edge companies and individuals working across the private, public and third sector.

As a result, it has wooed a number of big name foreign direct investors over the last few years, such as California-based Imperva. It announced in December that it was setting up a new base in Belfast creating 220 jobs.

Imperva joins other companies operating substantial cyber security bases in Northern Ireland such as Anomali, Black Duck Software, Rapid7 and Proofpoint, all of which help make the region the number one international location for US cyber security development projects, according to the FT’s FDi Markets report.

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“The launch of the 40 scholarships for the Applied Cyber Security MSc at Queen’s comes at an apt time for one of the fastest-growing sectors in Northern Ireland and in the world,” said Prof Philip Hanna, director of education at the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Queen’s.

“Thirst for cyber security talent is strong and will intensify further in the future, so initiatives of this nature are essential to maintain the sector’s vibrancy.

“Cyber security is exciting, fast paced and extremely rewarding and these scholarships will widen its accessibility.”

Head of the school, Dr Karen Rafferty, said: “This is a great example of academia flexing to meet the demands of industry. At Queen’s we’re striving to play our part as a critical pillar in the future of the Northern Ireland economy and these scholarships do just that.

“Cyber security is a sector with huge growth potential in the coming years and Queen’s students will be at the centre of that journey.”

Related topics:Northern IrelandBelfast