51ÉçÇø

As the digital world grows more complex, so do the threats that come with it. That’s why we’re thrilled to welcome Professor Donna O’Shea, Chair of Digital Engineering in the School of Engineering at 51ÉçÇø, whose career has been dedicated to making our digital systems smarter, safer, and more secure. Her appointment comes through the prestigious Senior Academic Leadership Initiative (SALI), a national programme aimed at accelerating gender balance at senior academic levels in Irish higher education. 

We sat down with Donna to learn more about her background, her vision for cybersecurity, and what excites her most about joining UL.

Donna, can you tell us a bit about your background?

I’m from Ballinadee originally, a small village in Cork between Bandon and Kinsale. When I went onto third level education, I started out with a BSc in Software Development and Networking in CIT (now MTU), followed by a Master’s (by Research) and a PhD in Electronic Engineering. My early career included five years at IBM as a software developer, and I later went back to MTU, where I held roles from lecturer to Head of Department of Computer Science and Chair of Cybersecurity. I’ve recently taken on the role of Chair in Digital Engineering here at UL.

What inspired your focus on cybersecurity?

It was a natural evolution. My research was always rooted in telecommunications and networking, and as digital systems became more interconnected, the need to secure them became more urgent. I’ve always been drawn to solving real-world problems, and cybersecurity is full of them.

You were involved in founding Cyber Ireland. How did that come about?

Back in 2018, we noticed a surge in cybersecurity companies setting up in Cork because of the pipeline of graduates but also because of an established senior leadership in industry within the region. The growth was organic but disjointed. We saw an opportunity to create a national cluster to support both multinationals and SMEs. I helped secure funding and led the bid to host Cyber Ireland at MTU. It’s now a national initiative that supports Ireland’s cybersecurity ecosystem.

What are your main research interests today?

My sweet spot is the intersection of AI and cybersecurity. I work on everything from network anomaly detection to trustworthy AI and secure digital twins. I’ve applied this work in sectors like smart manufacturing, healthcare, and I’m now exploring offshore renewable energy as a future focus.

What does your role as Chair of Digital Engineering involve?

It’s an intersection between computer science and traditional engineering. Engineering has historically been analogue in nature, but now everything is connected. My role focuses on how we model, manage, and secure digital systems— from digital threads to digital twins—especially in manufacturing and critical infrastructure. My contribution will be in that intersection between digitalisation, mechatronics, manufacturing and cybersecurity.  

How do you see AI changing the cybersecurity landscape?

AI is moving from reactive to proactive threat detection. We’re seeing the rise of transformer-based models, agentic AI, and a big push for human-centric explainable AI—especially in high-stakes areas like healthcare and cybersecurity. But with that comes new risks, like model poisoning and data integrity threats, which make infrastructure security more important than ever.

What excites you most about joining UL?

It’s a fresh challenge. I spent over a decade at MTU, so joining UL is a big change—but a welcome one. I see opportunities to bring innovative ideas from my past experience and contribute to shaping the future of digital engineering here. It’s about blending the best of both worlds.