CDU IT experts and students honoured in NT Digital Excellence Awards

Information technology (IT) experts and students at Charles Darwin University (CDU) have been recognised in the 2021 Northern Territory Digital Excellence Awards by the Australian Information Security Association (AISA).

CDU IT Lecturer at the College of Engineering, IT and Environment Dr Bharanidharan Shanmugam took out the NT Cyber Security Professional of the Year.

Dr Shanmugam received the honour for his continuous advocacy for cyber security among the Northern Territory community, mentorship of IT students, support for emerging IT professionals and volunteering work.

In September, he worked closely with AISA to organise the first cyber security conference in Darwin converging more than 70 professionals and a wide range of expert speakers.

“Winning the award means there are more responsibilities for me in ensuring that Territorians are cyber safe,” Dr Shanmugam said.

“There’s a lot more work that needs to be done. I hope to reach more socially disadvantaged people, migrants and schools to educate more people about cyber security.”

While Dr Shanmugam is passionate about nurturing the next generation of IT experts for the Territory, CDU’s IT specialist Jay Tuckey has been named the NT ICT Rising Star in the Digital Excellence Awards.

The Rising Star award category in partnership with the NT Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade recognises emerging IT experts under the age of 30 for their contribution to the sector.

A Solution Architect of hybrid applications at CDU, Mr Tuckey’s work focuses on server administration, network designs and firewalls.

He has been working at CDU for the past seven years, working through the ranks in the Client Services team, Systems team, as a Senior Systems analyst and now a lead technical expert striving to provide and maintain a reliable network for the University.

“I’m very pleased to win the award and would like to thank my manager for nominating me for the award,” Mr Tuckey said.

“I would like to continue working at CDU, expanding my field in architectural work, designing networking and making systems more reliable.”

CDU IT student Trevor Pinto won the CDU Code Fair Overall Award for Most Outstanding Entrant due to his achievement in the iconic annual event aimed to equip IT students with practical experience in solving real-world IT challenges.