Dimension Data and Victoria’s Deakin University will open a cyber security incubator at the university’s Waurn Ponds campus to build products and address the skills shortage across the sector.
The incubator has received $450,000 from the Victorian government’s first round allocation of $6.5 million in grants, which included funding for 18 projects.
The demand for computer security experts is expected to grow by more than 20 per cent over the next five years. The organisations said that a collaborative approach among industry, government and universities is the best way to meet their potential shortfall and build critical national cyber resilience.
Professor Peter Hodgson, deputy vice-chancellor (research), at Deakin, said the agreement with DiData provides the university with direct knowledge of the needs of industry so it can quickly tailor its research to match them.
“To be effective and make the leap across the so-called valley of death, startups need strong mentoring from those who have done it,” he said.
Victoria’s minister for small business, innovation and trade, Philip Dalidakis, said the government wants Victoria to be the location of choice for startups worldwide.
“These projects will help young companies and ideas to create jobs and industries that will support Victoria for decades to come,” he said.
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