Today's guest is Eoin Byrne, Cluster Manager at Cyber Ireland. Cyber Ireland is an initiative to establish a national cybersecurity cluster in Ireland, which is facilitated by the Cork Institute of Technology and supported by IDA Ireland. It provides a collective voice to represent the needs of the cybersecurity sector across the country and will address key challenges including skills needs, research and the development of a national community which connects industry, academia and government.

Cyber Ireland is based on cluster-style initiatives which operates across Europe and internationally, that have proven extremely successful in enhancing innovation, growth & competitiveness of regions and the companies that are part of the cluster. For the cluster to be successful, it needs to be industry-driven, fueled by third-level education and supported by the Government. With the co-operation of these three pillars, the cluster will be able to reach its full potential.

In the show, Eoin will discuss:

The benefits of setting up a tech cluster,

Why he decided to set up a Cybersecurity cluster in Ireland,

The successes of their work so far in the past two years,

Addressing the skills shortage within Cybersecurity,

How the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Cyber Ireland,

and Their goals in strengthening Ireland’s Cybersecurity ecosystem