Project Name

Cyber Skills

 

For more information, please visit our website at www.cyberskills.ie


Project Team

  • Donna O’Shea, Chair of Cybersecurity & Project Lead, Munster Technological University
  • Jacqueline Kehoe, Project Manager, Munster Technological University
  • Thomas Newe, Project Partner, University of Limerick
  • Anthony Keane, Project Partner, Technological University Dublin
  • Sean McSweeney, Project Partner, Munster Technological University
  • Joseph Walsh, Project Partner, Munster Technological University
Four project team members are smiling and sitting together at a conference.

Provide a short description of the project

Cyber Skills is a national programme funded by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) Pillar 3 Human Capital Initiative (HCI). In collaboration with Munster Technological University, Technological University Dublin, and the University of Limerick, we are committed to addressing the skills shortage in cyber security.

 

Cyber Skills provides online, fully flexible university accredited micro-credentials and pathways to enable Information and Communications Technology (ICT) professionals to upskill. Cyber Skills’ micro-credentials and pathways have been specifically designed and created by industry and academic experts and align to the NIST NICE Cyber Security Framework. Our pathways are mapped to workplace job roles, so graduates are guaranteed to be workplace ready with the skills and knowledge needed to advance in their career.

 

Furthermore, Cyber Skills students benefit from the first of its kind, world class, cloud based Cyber Range. The Cyber Range provides a secure, sandboxed area which simulates real-world scenarios and environments where students can test their new skills. The Cyber Range provides students with the unique opportunity to test the vast array of techniques required to stay ahead in this challenging everchanging environment.

 

At Cyber Skills, we are committed to improving societal cyber resilience to face cyber threats, and regulatory and compliance challenges head on. To achieve this mission, we offer a wide range of cybersecurity training across Ireland to small and medium sized businesses (SMEs), schools, charity boards, and many other sectors of society.

 

For more information on Cyber Skills and to start your journey in cyber security, please visit www.cyberskills.ie

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Highlight interesting collaborations / partnerships

Even though Cyber Skills is still in its infancy, we have benefited from over 12 collaborations. The most notable include –

 

  • US Knowledge Sharing
    Our knowledge sharing partnerships with the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative at Virginia Tech and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), both based in the US.Cyber Skills has partnered with the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) at Virginia Tech, a global centre of excellence in cyber security, to build on international experience in solving the global cyber skills shortages.Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) shares Cyber Range exercises and scenarios with the Cyber Skills team. In January, Cyber Skills and RIT met in Rochester to explore how the Cyber Range can be used in capture the flag exercises, and the Cyber Skills team met with the RIT team separately to discuss cyber security education for deaf students and sign language users.

 

  • The Cyber Security Academy and Cyber Futures
    The Cyber Security Academy and Cyber Futures are initiatives of Cyber Skills and Cyber Ireland. The Cyber Security Academy is free and runs over five-days in June every year. It is open to all 4th and 5th year students aged 16 years or above. The overall aim of the Academy is to encourage an interest in and awareness of cyber security careers through technical training. No technical knowledge is required, as the exercises are designed to accommodate both complete beginners and students with existing technical knowledge. Cyber Futures is our Cyber Security Career Promotion programme at Cyber Skills. Funded by the Science Foundation Ireland Discover fund, it includes the cyberfutures.ie website sharing information about career opportunities in Ireland, an Instagram account sharing career information regularly and series of events including the Summer Cyber Security Academy, the Schools Capture the Flag competition, and the Cyber Security workshops for 8 to 12 year-olds.

 

  • CheckmyLink
    Our CheckmyLink partnership towards the end of 2022 with the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau, Dublin, Global Scam Alliance, Amsterdam, and the Banking and Payments Federation, Dublin. CheckmyLink is an easy-to-use online service which helps the public to determine whether a website is likely to be legitimate or a scam.
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  • Cyber Range Simulation
    The European Cyber Security Organisation and the Irish Defence Forces have been key to building the vision for the Cyber Skills Cyber Range simulation platform.

 

  • Development of Cyber Security Training
    Boardmatch and the Professional Development Service for Teachers have worked closely with Cyber Skills on the development of cybersecurity training for their peers.

 

  • Addressing Global Cyber Resilience
    The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT), Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) and the EU Cyber Defence Alliance, help us to address global cyber resilience challenges and opportunities.

Provide a brief summary of the project’s key enterprise engagements to date

Cyber Skills is committed to delivering education that guarantees its graduates are workplace ready and meet the needs of industry. To achieve this, we have worked closely with enterprise partners in the development of every one of our micro-credentials and pathways.

Mastercard, DublinJohnson & Johnson
Dell CorkJanssen Ireland, Cork
Dell, Global Cyber SecurityTrend Micro
Analog Devices, LimerickIBM Dublin
Dell, LimerickPalo Alto Networks
JLR, ShannonAccenture, Dublin
IBM, CorkSplunk, Dublin
JRI BankCommsec, Dublin
Cyber Ireland, CorkBH-Consulting, Dublin
State StreetCollaboratory, Dublin
eSentireNCSC
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Project Showcase

Website

 

Social Media Channels

Three people standing together and two people are holding an award.

Cyber Skills Award Winner Secure Network Operations, Chloe Rocks, Dell

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Cyber Skills Award Winner Software Development, Pauline Finlay, Edgescan

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Cyber Skills Award Winner Secure Systems Architecture, David O'Reilly, Mastercard

Initiatives

 

Publications

 

Recent Workshops

  • March 2023: “The Secure Software Development Lifecycle. Friend or Foe?” Delivered to Mastercard staff involved in the Security Champions event by Anila Mjeda.
  • March 2023: Cyber Range Workshop delivered to Bath Spa University UK (Dubai Campus) by Dr Kashif Naseer and Dr Thomas Newe
  • February 2023: Cybersecurity for Business delivered by Gillian O’Carroll and Brian Ahern
  • January 2023: “Upskilling Opportunities with Cyber Skills” delivered at Mastercard’s Security Champions Event by Jacqueline Kehoe and Anila Mjeda. Former students of Cyber Skills are very active in developing the security champions programme at Mastercard and are encouraging other developers to attend the Secure Software Development pathway with Cyber Skills.
  • January 2023: Risk Management for Research Data Workshop to CONNECT PhD Students by Gillian O’Carroll

 

Media

Cyber Skills in the Media (cont.)

Last updated: November 2024