The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (ESPRC) have officially recognised three more UK universities as academic centres of excellence in cyber security research (ACE-CSR).
They have identified the University of Kent, King’s College London, and Cardiff University as having first rate research with scale and impact and said they will join 14 other institutions in a scheme forming part of the Government’s National Cyber Security Strategy.
The universities will now have the opportunity to bid for funding to develop research in cyber security, including at doctoral level, as well as attend annual conferences and workshops.
The ACE-CSR programme is supported by Government’s £1.9 billion National Cyber Security Strategy (NCSS) 2016-2021. It is aimed at creating a better understanding of the strength of the UK's academic capability in cyber security and identify areas where there are research opportunities or technical gaps.
It supports collaboration between academia, business and government and the move to convert research into practical products and services. This includes developing tools to tackle mass marketing fraud online and better understand cyber criminals.
Pioneering work
Minister for Digital Margot James said: “These universities are doing fantastic research in cyber security and they are rightly being recognised for their pioneering work.
“We have some of the best minds in the world working in the field and thanks to this scheme they can now help shape our National Cyber Security Strategy and develop the talent and services of tomorrow.”
Other institutions recognised under the ACE-CSR programme are the universities of Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Lancaster, Newcastle, Oxford, Southampton, Surrey, Warwick and Queen’s University Belfast, along with Imperial and University colleges London and Royal Holloway. They hold the status until June 2022.
New challenges in cyber security for the public sector will provide the focus for the UKAuthority Public Sector Cyber Forum, scheduled to take place in London on Thursday 20 September and free to attend for public servants. More information and registration details from here.
Image: Harland Quarrington/MoD, Open Government Licence v1.0 through Wikimedia
