Online Fringe Festival puts cyber security on the international map

The academic team behind the Midlands Centre for Cyber Security are putting cyber security on the international map with its second online FREE Cyber Fringe Festival. 

The Festival, which is due to run from Monday 6 December until Friday 10 December, will feature over 50 guest speakers from across the world delivering a range of strategic, operational and technical sessions, covering the cyber industry, defence and emergency services as well as diversity, government, acceleration and skills. 

After its successful premier in 2020, which featured 42 talks with delegates from 23 countries, the Cyber Fringe Festival 2021 will once again be delivered primarily online with some face-to-face workshops and will focus on various topics of importance around cyber security.  

Academics from the University of Wolverhampton Cyber Research Institute, alongside sector partners, developed the fringe programme of online sessions in support of the cyber security industry, drawing on expertise from across the globe.  

With the official opening of Cyber Quarter – Midlands Centre for Cyber Security also taking place in December, the events will strive to put Hereford on the global cyber map. 

Professor Prashant Pillai, Associate Dean Research and Knowledge Exchange and Centre Director Cyber Quarter – Midlands Centre for Cyber Security, said:

“We were overwhelmed by the interest from across in the globe at the Cyber Fringe Festival last year with speakers sharing their experiences, strategies and knowledge and this year looks to be even more exciting with 50 speakers already on board and others being added daily. 

“Now, more than ever as globally we collectively try to recover following the Covid-19 pandemic, the sessions will be of real value to people who are launching or growing their business. 

“The expertise and specialist focus of the new centre will be part of a wider, growing campus of cyber sector companies based within the Cyber Quarter on Skylon Park. The area is already home to a highly regarded cyber economy, and the knowledge, expertise and opportunities that the centre brings will help to establish Herefordshire as one of the capitals of the cyber security sector. 

“The Festival concept was, and is continuing to be, very well received and covers some of the specialisms we offer, whilst also helping us to forge strategic partnerships and relationships with some of the world’s leading expertise in cyber and security, really putting Herefordshire and the Midlands on the international map.” 

Herefordshire is home to the UK’s leading centre of excellence in cyber security with the new Midlands Quarter – Centre for Cyber Security now open at Skylon Park on the Herefordshire Enterprise Zone. 

The £9m state-of-the-art hub supports innovation and industry in the sector. The Centre is a joint venture between the University of Wolverhampton and Herefordshire Council and part-funded by the Government’s Local Growth Fund, via the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). 

Cyber Quarter – Midlands Centre for Cyber Security offers a package of tailored security testing, training, research & development and sector expertise to businesses and investors. 

Supported by the Wolverhampton University’s Cyber Research Institute (WCRI), the centre offers space for up to 16 cyber SMEs as well as offering product testing and certification, CPD and short courses and cyber conferences attracting experts from across the globe. 

To view this year’s events and book your place, please visit www.cyberfringefestival.org 

Anyone interested in courses offered or businesses looking for incubation space can find out more about the Cyber Quarter – Midlands Centre for Cyber Security on the website.