A3C welcomes new alliances to strengthen SA’s cyber capability

Caption – Pictured from l-r are Deon Liebenberg, Vice President, Product & Innovation, Optus; Premier Steven Marshall; and Professor David Lloyd, Vice Chancellor and President, University of South Australia (image: Catherine Leo)

Lot Fourteen’s Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre (A3C) continues to go from strength to strength with recent partnerships announced with the Commonwealth Bank (CBA), Optus and the University of South Australia.

CBA will support the centre on a number of initiatives that will ultimately secure Australia and support a prospering digital economy.

As part of the deal, cyber teams will connect with teachers and students in universities and schools in a bid to secure the sector’s future workforce needs. Businesses will also be provided with intelligence to help them understand the cyber-security threats they face and how they can prepare for emerging trends. Further, global partners will help to solve the challenges Australians face and find innovative security solutions.

Elsewhere, Optus and the University of South Australia joined forces to establish an Optus and UniSA led Cyber Security Research and Collaboration Hub in the A3C.

The hub will bring together industry, customers, partners, academics and students under to solve some of the most complex cyber issues and pave the way for new products and services.

Already partners in Lot Fourteen’s Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Living Lab project, the Optus and UniSA alliance will further support the Lab’s leadership in data analytics and machine learning.

Cybersecurity is one of the hi-tech focus sectors at Lot Fourteen and Premier Steven Marshall says the joint venture will further enhance SA’s capacity in cyber innovation.

“The design of this joint venture and its location at Lot Fourteen and in the A3C will more closely align education, research and innovation and help to support existing and emerging businesses.

“Cyber security and data science are critical for business, for government and industry and having a relationship that will support growth right here in South Australia will be vital in creating jobs and investment post the pandemic.”

Optus Enterprise Vice President Product Innovation, Deon Liebenberg says Optus’ co-investment is a response to the increasingly critical role data science and cyber security plays in the world, and the need to bring academia and industry from all sectors under one roof to solve complex digital issues collectively.

“We want to apply advances in these fields to make a real difference in people’s lives and this joint venture will unlock opportunities and solutions that don’t even exist yet,” Mr. Liebenberg says.

Optus and UniSA will appoint a joint Chair of Cyber Security and Data Science to provide leadership, foster excellence in teaching and high-impact research across the University and at Lot Fourteen.

University of South Australia Deputy Vice Chancellor Research and Innovation, Professor Marnie Hughes-Warrington says the joint Chair will help to spearhead both research and education in the increasingly sophisticated and crucial fields of cyber security and data science.

“As South Australia grows its base in these industries, there will be increasing demand for the right research expertise and the right graduates to take up significant positions in both research and practice in cybersecurity and aligned positions in data science.”

The alliance will deliver multi-disciplinary education courses for undergraduate and postgraduate students, along with the creation of a joint research and innovation fund to develop and attract innovation to South Australia.

More: a3c.co