Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has taken a tour of Northern Ireland’s industrial past as well as learning about a current leading sector during a one-day visit.
Mr Zahawi flew in to meet with the Utility Regulator and Stormont ministers in Belfast to discuss delivering an energy bill discount to households in the region.
His day of engagements also included a trip to the Titanic Belfast attraction which chronicles the story of the ill-fated liner as well as the city’s historical strength for ship building.
He met with the Queen’s University vice-chancellor Professor Ian Greer and Professor Máire O’Neill, director of the Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT), as well as viewing the Cyber Range and Anechoic Chamber.
Mr Greer said Queen’s has helped to put Northern Ireland on the map for digital innovation.
“The cybersecurity sector in Northern Ireland continues to grow from strength to strength and the University has ambitious plans for the future,” he said.
“Through cutting-edge research, experts at Queen’s are continuing to develop solutions to real world problems on our doorstop, which has a positive impact right across the globe.”
Ms O’Neill added: “The expansion of ECIT through the new £58 million Global Innovation Institute will see more than 550 multi-disciplinary experts on site, building on our core expertise across cyber security, advanced wireless technologies, data science/analytics.”
