The Cyber Skills team at Munster Technological University (MTU) is thrilled to spotlight a significant achievement by our Chair of Cybersecurity, Dr Donna O’Shea. Donna has been awarded the prestigious Innovator Achievement Award 2024, presented by Maggie Cusack, President of MTU, Josette O’Mullane, Innovation and Enterprise Manager at MTU and Michael Loftus, Vice President for External Affairs at MTU. This award acknowledges Donna’s outstanding contributions to innovation and her dedication to advancing cybersecurity in MTU and beyond.

Speaking about the award, Dr Donna O’Shea said “I am thrilled to receive this award in recognition of MTU’s thought leadership in cybersecurity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. This impact we have achieved is due to the commitment of the Cyber Explore research team which I am privileged to lead, and the support and leadership from MTU’s Innovation & Enterprise function”. She went on to explain how cybersecurity innovation is critically important. Due to the increasingly complex and expanding threat landscape we need indigenous cyber capabilities developed. This will provide opportunities for engaging existing workforce talent. Therefore, this supports the creation of new start-ups, jobs and investment while simultaneously developing cybersecurity capabilities within our own borders.

The award ceremony took place at Munster Technological University’s third Innovation Awards, hosted at the Nimbus Research Centre on the Bishopstown campus. This annual event celebrates the work and effort that staff have put into their inventions and research industry collaborations during the year. This year’s award categories included:

•       Invention Disclosure Form (IDF) Awards
•       Industry Research Collaboration Award
•       Innovator Achievement Award

The ceremony began with presentations from nominees showcasing their Invention Disclosure Form (IDF) projects from the past year. It was fantastic to see some of the fabulous inventions disclosed by staff in 2023.

The judges for the Invention Disclosure Form (IDF) Awards included David Corkery from University College Cork and Paul Dillon from University of Limerick. David emphasized the significance of these awards in acknowledging both individuals and opportunities, remarking that competing is a collaborative undertaking. He discussed the importance of learning from one another's research and to strive together to get better as a collective and as individuals.

We were thrilled to learn that the Science Foundation Ireland Connect Centre honoured Donna O’Shea with its prestigious EPE award at their annual plenary. This accolade recognizes her exceptional contributions to shaping a unified cybersecurity vision for Ireland, which she presented to the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications. It also recognized her leadership in developing Ireland's CheckMyLink service (www.checkmylink.ie), aimed at enhancing the cyber resilience of everyday citizens. Earning two awards in one week is a remarkable achievement.