Science @ Strathclyde Business Breakfast

Computer & Information Science Business Breakfast - Cyber Security and the Internet of Things

The September Business Breakfast was organised by the Department of Computer and Information Science and included presentations from Raj Sark (Founder of Glasgow-based Connect-In Ltd.) and Dr Shishir Nagaraja (Department of Computer & Information Sciences). Information about the speakers can be found below:

Raj Sark, Founder of Glasgow-based Connect-In Ltd., is an innovation-driven entrepreneur who likes to make use of technology to solve practical problems. Raj comes from a background in wireless systems development having worked 8+ years in this industry. Worked before with RTX Telecom for clients like Microsoft, Skype and local SMEs as well. His venture Connect-In Ltd. designs and manufactures Bluetooth Smart™ solutions with focus on energy efficiency for IoT sensors. Their flagship product Xupo www.myxupo.com helps users to keep track of personal valuables straight from their smartphone! XUPO is a winner of multiple innovation awards including from MIT and Nokia. Raj is active with University initiatives and is passionate about contributing toward and supporting the local innovation ecosystem.

Dr Shishir Nagaraja, Reader in Cyber Security at the University of Strathclyde, discussed the security challenges of secure industrial informatics. The connected industry refers to the infusion of (Internet) connected components within industrial workplaces such as manufacturing, pharma, chemical processing, transport, and satellites. Connectivity enables super-scale sensing architectures which can deliver fine-grained data collection to generate actionable intelligence information about workflow optimisation using machine learning techniques. Connectivity also enables automated industrial processes that implement the intelligence gained about possible optimisations. At the core of these sensing and industrial automation systems lies the programmable control-system which contains all of the intelligent components. A major barrier to this vision is the holistic understanding of systemic challenges across connectivity, logic, and security, which repeatedly manifests itself in the context of the system of systems problem. Programmability is a huge opportunity however without appropriate security, the strengths of connected systems can be abused to quickly bring the system to its knees. 

The presentations from the event can be downloaded below:

• Xupo Presentation - Raj Sark

• The internet of things - Dr Shishir Nagaraja

Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy & Biomedical Sciences (SIPBS) Business Breakfast

Dr Claire MacDonald, Business Development Manager of CMAC – the University’s Centre for Continuous Manufacturing and Crystallisation – outlined the facilities available at the National Centre and the opportunities for collaboration.

Dr Mark Rogers, CEO Designate of ULab, talked about how you can gain access to expensive research equipment for hire or can make money from your existing equipment. 

Dr Carolyn Arbuckle, Business Development Officer for the West of Scotland KTP Centre, outlined how the Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) scheme helps businesses to innovate and grow.



Presentations from the meeting can be downloaded below:

• CMAC Presentation, Claire MacDonald

• KTP Presentation, Carolyn Arbuckle

Pure And Applied Chemistry Business Breakfast

Jim Robinson from Scottish Enterprise discussed The Circular Economy and how it affects businesses. His colleague, Jonathan Simpson, discussed sources of funding available to businesses from Scottish Enterprise. Additionally, Dr. Jonathan Parrot from the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry talked about Collaborative Research Projects, which are part of the MSc in Forensic Science.

Presentations from the meeting can be downloaded below:

• Circular Economy
• Collaborative Research Projects
• Current Sources of Funding for Business from Scottish Enterprise

First Science @ Strathclyde Business Breakfast

Dr Stephen Corson from the Department of Mathematics & Statistics discussed how its support and training unit, SMART, can help you understand your business data and provide bespoke training for your staff. Slides from the meeting can be found here: SMART