Abertay University students showcase cutting-edge cyber projects at annual event

Final-year students from Abertay University’s Computing, Cybersecurity and Ethical Hacking programmes showcased a wide range of innovative projects at this year’s Cyber Student Showcase. 

Held at Abertay cyberQuarter on Friday 8 May, the event featured 20 final-year projects covering a broad range of cybersecurity and computing topics. 

Projects included tools that use AI to speed up the analysis of malware, new ways to verify a person’s age online without sharing unnecessary personal information, an AI-powered messaging app that supports communication across different languages, and a system called DMOS that helps detect threats by examining a computer’s memory. 

Dr Natalie Coull, Head of the Department of Cybersecurity and Computing, said: 

This year’s showcase highlights the talent, creativity and technical ability of our students, and the high standard of work being produced across our Computing, Cybersecurity and Ethical Hacking programmes. Events like this are an important opportunity for students to present their ideas and skills to industry guests and partners, receive valuable feedback, and build connections that can support them as they begin their careers. As the cybersecurity landscape continues to evolve, the work presented here also underlines the important role Abertay graduates will play in shaping a more secure digital future.

With guests from across the cybersecurity industry in attendance, the event gave students the chance to engage directly with industry professionals, receive feedback on their work and explore future career opportunities.

The event was supported by a range of industry sponsors, helping to strengthen the link between academic study and real-world application. This year’s sponsors included Cisco, Cylera, NCR Atleos, Systal Tech and ScotlandIS. 

Awards were also presented during the event for the most innovative projects, with each category judged by representatives from a cyberQuarter partner: 

• Cylera: Diego Andrade – Comparison of Multi-Class Classification Algorithms for NetFlow anomaly detection
• Systal: Wojciech Bock – Accelerating malware analysis using AI in the form of a local LLM
• NCR Atleos: Keirn Hally – DMOS (Direct Memory Offload Scanning)
• ScotlandIS: Snow White – Inclusive Threat Modelling: Identifying and Mitigating Cybersecurity Risks Faced by People with Multiple Sclerosis
• Cisco: Jonathan Tiran – Temporal Fall Detection: Deep Learning vs. Rule-Based Methods 

The Cyber Student Showcase took place in the Abertay cyberQuarter, a research and innovation hub focused on collaboration and growth in cybersecurity and AI. Since opening, the cyberQuarter has hosted knowledge exchange workshops, training sessions and showcase events, bringing together students, professionals and industry leaders to share expertise and best practice.  

Alongside the prize sponsors, current partners include a range of public and private sector organisations, including Police Scotland, Dundee City Council, the Scottish Government, the Cyber and Fraud Centre Scotland. 

Professor Lynne Coventry, Director of Abertay cyberQuarter, said: 

We are extremely grateful to our industry partners for their continued support and for taking the time to engage with our students at this year’s showcase. Their involvement helps create valuable opportunities for students to share their work, gain feedback from professionals and better understand the skills and ideas that matter most in industry. Events like this are an important part of building connections between education, research and the organisations helping to shape the future of cybersecurity.