Darktrace, a global leader in cyber security AI, is partnering with Loughborough University to provide funding, resources and expertise for five new Doctoral Researcher posts at the university. This will focus on cross-disciplinary research in the intersection of artificial intelligence and cyber security, helping to ensure a future pipeline of talent in two vital areas for the UK’s tech and innovation economy.

Led by Professors Tim Watson and Iain Phillips, the Doctoral Researchers will be part of Loughborough’s Cyber Security Centre. As well as working with academics across the University, the researchers will have industry supervisors from Darktrace’s world leading team of AI and cyber security experts and use of its cutting-edge AI technology. Students in the programme will choose and undertake their focus independently but Darktrace has the option to carry on research that is of particular significance, in partnership with Loughborough.

The UK government aims to make the UK a science and technology superpower by 2030, and AI and cyber security will be vital industries in reaching those goals. The UK’s cyber security industry is already aworld leader worth £10.5bn per year and artificial intelligence is expected to add $1 trillion to the UK economy by 2035. However, both industries face significant talent shortages hampering future growth, with 11,200 more cyber security experts needed to support UK businesses alone. Following the initial set of studentships, Darktrace and Loughborough hope to expand the partnership to help fill this skills gap.

Speaking about the studentships, Professor Watson said: “We are delighted to be working with Darktrace. Loughborough is committed to enhancing knowledge in the area of AI and cyber security, and ensuring there is a highly skilled workforce to meet the needs of industry.

Darktrace is a global leader in cyber security AI, and Doctoral Researchers on this scheme will have unique access to this industry leader to advance their research in order to tackle these increasingly complex technological challenges.

Professor Dan Parsons, Loughborough’s Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research, added: At Loughborough we are committed to harnessing the power and potential of AI to benefit society, and doing so in secure and resilient ways. This partnership with Darktrace will help us deliver this, and we are delighted Darktrace has chosen us as their first higher education partner in the UK.

The partnership also builds on Darktrace’s wider commitment to helping the next generation of diverse tech talent in the UK. This year, Darktrace continued its internship programme with CyberFirst, an initiative led by the National Cyber Security Centre to inspire young people to develop cybersecurity skills, and partnered with Code First Girls, which aims to close the diversity gap in the industry.

Rosie Cooper, Technical Director at Darktrace, and a supervisor on the programme, added: “Darktrace is built by experts in areas ranging from data science and mathematics to astrophysics, immunology, linguistics, and even classical Greek. Cross-disciplinary teams have been key to our success. We believe the same approach to skills can propel a world leading technology industry in the UK and, as a business at the forefront of UK tech and one that has benefitted from the country’s academic strengths, we want to help make that happen. We’re excited to partner with the doctoral students at Loughborough to advance this agenda.

The first Doctoral Researcher has already been recruited, with the remaining posts being filled over the next four years.

Underlining its commitment to AI and big data research, Loughborough has recently joined the Turing University Network. The network, part of The Alan Turing Institute, offers UK universities with an interest in data science and AI the opportunity to engage and collaborate both with the Institute and its broader networks in academia, industry and the public sector. Loughborough has also recently announced a number of data science and AI scholarships for underrepresented students in postgraduate conversion courses, which are being co-funded by Visa, a world leader in digital payments, and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

About Darktrace

Darktrace (DARK.L),a global leader in cyber security artificial intelligence, is on a mission to free the world of cyber disruption. Breakthrough innovations in our Cyber AI Research Centre in Cambridge, UK have resulted in over 160 patents filed and research published to contribute to the cyber security community. Rather than study attacks, Darktrace's technology continuously learns and updates its knowledge of your business data and applies that understanding to optimise your state of optimal cyber security. Darktrace's cyber AI technology provides a full lifecycle approach to cyber resilience across the entire organisation that can autonomously spot and respond to novel in progress threats within seconds. Darktrace employs over 2,200 people around the world and protects approximately 8,900 customers globally from advanced cyber threats. Darktrace was named one of TIME magazine's 'Most Influential Companies' in 2021. To learn more,visit https://darktrace.com/

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About Loughborough University

Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities,with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport andits underpinning academic disciplines.

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2023 QS World University Rankings – the seventh year running – and University of the Year for Sport by The Times and SundayTimes University Guide 2022.

Loughborough is ranked 7th in The UK Complete University Guide 2023, 10th in the Guardian University League Table 2023 and 11th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023.

Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’, and in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 over 90% of its research was rated as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally-excellent’. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.

The Loughborough University London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest inmodern thinking.

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