First Cohort of CyberInnovate Students Graduate

CyberInnovate is proud to celebrate the graduation of our first cohort of twelve students, marking a major milestone for the programme and for Ireland’s growing cybersecurity innovation ecosystem.

The inaugural group of participants in the Cyber Innovate Postgraduate Programme at Munster Technological University (MTU) has successfully completed an intensive ten-month journey designed to empower the next generation of cybersecurity entrepreneurs.

Throughout the programme, participants immersed themselves in a dynamic blend of learning, collaboration, and hands-on innovation — identifying real-world cybersecurity challenges, developing viable solutions, and building the entrepreneurial and leadership skills needed to transform ideas into thriving businesses.

“After an intense year it makes the entire CyberInnovate team very proud to see our first cohort of students graduate from the Postgraduate Diploma and MSc in Cybersecurity Innovation. We look forward to watching our new alumni develop and grow new businesses focused on solving some of the many cybersecurity related problems they unearthed during the programme”. Ronan Coleman, Programme Director

The success of CyberInnovates’ first year is already being realised through a range of start-ups, research projects, and entrepreneurial ventures now emerging from the programme. Four new start-ups have been launched by graduates, each addressing a critical challenge in the cybersecurity landscape.

Ailtire, founded by Colm McSweeny, Aileen Sheehan, and Damion McGing, is developing an automated threat modelling tool to enhance secure technology design. The tool streamlines threat modelling, automates control mapping, and simplifies security collaboration enabling cybersecurity teams to build securely, faster, and at scale. The company has received funding from the LEO and Microfinance Ireland and has participated in the AI Accelerator Programme in Galway. The team plan on releasing their MVP in the coming months.

Resilium founded by Paddy Lange has launched an Operational Technology (OT) Security Operations Centre (SOC) dedicated to improving the protection of industrial systems. Officially incorporated on 1 October, Resilium has also recently appointed a COO to drive its growth.

Mulcahy-Ward co-founded by Paul Ward and Clodagh Mulcahy is establishing a cybersecurity regulations consultancy providing expert guidance to organisations navigating increasingly complex compliance requirements. Both Paul and Clodagh also completed their MSc degrees in summer 2025, building on the entrepreneurial momentum gained through CyberInnovate.

DocuWill, founded by Harry Dunne, is a Life and Legacy Planning Platform which empowers anyone to create comprehensive end-of-life and incapacity plans independently from home.

In addition to the new start-ups, several graduates have advanced their ideas through Enterprise Ireland’s New Frontiers Programme. Harry Dunne has joined New Frontiers at SETU Carlow with DocuWill, Paddy Lange’s Resilium continues its development within the MTU Kerry programme, while Mélanie O’Donovan is progressing Cuan Secure, a human-centred risk management tool that monitors the digital activity of high risk staff and advises both staff and employers on how to lower the incidence of identified risks, through New Frontiers at MTU Cork.

Further demonstrating the programme’s impact, Ammar Zeini has secured a major R&D project, M.A.R.S-Shield (Mitigating, Automating, and Remediating Security) — an 18-month initiative, led by Principal Investigator Conor Lynch at the Nimbus Centre, MTU Cork. This project will explore new methods for automating and improving cybersecurity resilience across digital infrastructures.

The achievements of CyberInnovates’ first cohort showcase the transformative power of combining technical excellence with entrepreneurial ambition. These graduates are already shaping the future of cybersecurity in Ireland — launching companies, creating jobs and developing technologies that will have real-world impact.

CyberInnovate extends warm congratulations to all graduates and sincere thanks to the mentors, partners, guest speakers, and supporters who made this milestone possible.

CyberInnovate is supported under Innovators’ Initiative Programme, and co-funded by the Government of Ireland and European Union through the Southern, Eastern & Midland Regional Programme 2021-2027.