Alongside the team at Nishkam Centre, we’re proud to have curated INNOVATE YOURSELF – CYBERSECURITY IN TODAY’S WORLD, the next event for the Handsworth Innovation Hub.

This FREE event has been developed for people of all ages to learn about cybersecurity and understand the importance it has in today’s world.

With cybersecurity a high priority for businesses of all sizes to stay safe & secure online, now is a prime time to consider a career in this booming sector. This event has been specifically developed for our local community in Handsworth as a welcoming, safe space for people to educate themselves about tech and innovation but don’t know where to start. 

Handsworth Innovation Hub is brought to you by Taran3D & The Nishkam Centre, a joint collaboration to bring tech & innovation to our local communities. Our combined core values of nurturing and supporting individuals to access excellence in tech helped us develop this initiative as a safe space for our community to educate and innovate themselves on all things tech. 

It’s clear to us that many isolated and diverse communities aren’t getting the messages and support they need to break into tech & innovation. Handsworth Innovation Hub is helping to bridge this divide by bringing insightful, educational and welcoming events direct to the local community. 

Cybersecurity is the focus of our June event and we have brought together a superb line-up of expert speakers to share their experience in this fast-growing sector.  Find out more about our guest speakers below & book your ticket here https://bit.ly/3M16YQu

GUEST SPEAKERS

Dr. Harjinder Singh Lallie

Dr. Harjinder Singh Lallie is an Associate Professor at the University of Warwick and a visiting lecturer/project supervisor at the University of Oxford. Harjinder holds a PhD in cyber security, an MPhil, an MSc., and aBSc. 

Harjinder has more than twenty years of teaching experience and currently leads the MSc Cyber Security and Management degree, teaches three modules on the programme degree at Warwick. Harjinder’s research focuses on the area of complex attack modelling and the use of AI in digital forensics. He has published numerous research papers in the world’s top cyber security journals and completed reviews for Elsevier’s Computers and Security and IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security. 

Harjinder has held numerous conference committee memberships, acts as an external examiner and has conducted a number of national and international institutional reviews. Harjinder is accepting PhD students in the areas of digital forensics and cybersecurity 

Ian Vickers

In 2017, Ian Vickers launched the METCLOUD brand. The organisation has gone on to be recognised as one of the most secure cybersecurity platforms not only in the UK but has won dozens of internationally recognised awards for innovation. Through Ian’s leadership, the business has developed into a multi-million-pound organisation and is currently planning on International expansion in 2022.

Ian is also keen to contribute to the community and over the years has been Chair of the Birmingham Related Crime Steering Group (BRCSG) and a Board member of the Birmingham Community Safety Partnership and a board member of the West Midlands Crime Partnership. More recently, Ian has been appointed a Founding Member and Chair of the West Midlands Cyber Resilience Centre (WMCRC). The WMCRC is a Government-backed initiative establishing ten regional Cyber Resilience Centres working in collaboration with NCSC, Police Cyber Teams (RCCU), Businesses and Academia.

Ian is also an active member of the Computer Trade Industry Association (CompTIA) and in the UK, was a member of the Executive Council between 2015 and 2018 creating and supporting diversity initiatives. Ian is a member of the Microsoft Partner Advisory Council, which is made-up of twenty global Microsoft Partners to assist in the development of the Microsoft Partner program. In May 2020, Ian became a member of The World Economic Forum, which is an invitation-only membership & an organisation for Public-Private cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

Daljinder Mattu

Daljinder Mattu joined the Department of Digital, Culture, Media & Sport in June 2021 as a Senior Policy Lead for cyber security in the Midlands. She is based in the region to drive growth, innovation and skills in the UK cyber security sector by building and expanding regional reach and impact.

Daljinder supported the launch of the new 2022 National Cyber Strategy in Birmingham and is founder member of the Ethnic Minorities in Cyber network (EMiC). She works closely with industry, academia, the public sector and government to support and connect the Midlands region.

Prior to this, Daljinder worked in the Cabinet Office as Government Security Profession Head of Communications and previous to this as Head of Stakeholder Engagement & Communications for the 2016-2021 National Cyber Security Strategy.


Dr Anitha Chinnaswamy

Anitha is Associate Director of the Cyber Security Innovation Centre at Aston Business School and an Assistant Professor in Cybersecurity Management. 

Anitha has delivered multiple research and consultancy projects aimed at supporting the cybersecurity sector, alongside working with stakeholders in the key areas of cybersecurity risk management, awareness and organisational training and development in cybersecurity. In delivering the initiatives she also holds relationships with LEAs, regional cybercrime units and other resilience centres and academic partnerships. She is the Programme Director of an innovative MBA in cybersecurity that is aimed at middle-senior managers and includes key areas for organisational resilience such as risk management, effective incident management, crisis management, business continuity planning and effective recovery planning.

As a STEM Ambassador in the West Midlands, Anitha collaborates with schools, youth organisations, employers and a range of partner organisations. She aims to inspire the next generation to help promote interest and curiosity in STEM, increase STEM knowledge and develop STEM skills. Anitha is currently part of the Cyber Network for Ethnic Minorities professionals led by DCMS. The vision of this network consisting of members from across the West Midlands region is to promote diversity and inclusion in the cybersecurity sector.

Professor Prashant Pillai

Prof Prashant Pillai is Associate Dean, Professor of Cyber Security and Director of Cyber Quarter -The Midlands Centre for Cyber Security

An award-winning academic leader and visionary, Prof Pillai has over 19 years of UK Higher Education experience. He is a globally renowned scholar and outstanding university educator who provides academic direction and leadership to research, business engagement and education within the subject area of computer science at the University of Wolverhampton. 

Over the years, Prof Pillai has led several national/international research projects in the areas of networking protocols and cyber security. He has been invited for talks at various international conferences and has published over 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals and conferences. With an educational background in Electronics and IT security and an avid interest in Artificial Intelligence, Prof Pillai has a passion for researching complex issues that lie in the interaction of these areas. His current research interest lies in the application of AI and developing novel security solutions for safety-critical systems (like smart grid, autonomous cars, aeronautical systems and robotics).