Dogukan Aksu

The Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) is the UK’s Innovation & Knowledge Centre for cyber security. This research institute, based at Queen’s University Belfast, combines research excellence with translation and innovation driven by collaboration with industry, other areas of academia and public sector stakeholders.  CSIT plays a key role in Northern Ireland’s cyber security ecosystem through the development of challenge-led research and innovation programmes, focused skills development, generation of and collaboration with start-ups, and attracting foreign direct investment. CSIT’s key role in the ecosystem has helped to create approximately 2750 jobs in the sector with the ambition to grow this towards 5000, including via a major collaborative programme with eight companies to apply cyber security to AI.  The CSIT commercial and engineering team has helped to deliver more than 100 rapid response projects with a range of small and medium enterprises, and start-up businesses. In addition, CSIT has delivered a range of industrial collaborations with global partners including Allstate, BAE Systems, Cisco, Citi, Direct Line Group, First Derivatives, IBM, Infosys, Liberty, Intel, McAfee, Roke, Rolls Royce, Seagate and Thales.   Working directly with industry enables rapid translation of world-leading cyber security research into new products and services that are helping protect consumers and securing complex systems in financial services, defence and other sectors crucial to UK economic resilience