A team of three Southampton Students has won a GCHQ sponsored national challenge to hack a purposely built website beating over 250 participants in teams from 11 top UK Universities.
The competition, open to all Universities accredited by GCHQ as âAcademic Centres of Excellence in Cyber Security Researchâ? (ACEs) was run in conjunction with Cambridge University and involved attacking and defacing a specially prepared website. The Southampton team of David Young, James Prance and Josh Curry managed the task in the first day of the challenge.
This success follows the individual and team bronze medals won earlier in the year at Inter-ACE 2016 competition and sets high expectations for Inter-ACE 2017 in March next year.
Professor Vladimiro Sassone, Director of Southampton Universityâs Cyber Security Centre, said âI am very proud to support students capable of such quality in their exploits. In order to maintain our performance at this level, we will recruit more team members for the Inter-ACE challenge in March. Our students in the Cyber Security Centre are very active in external competitions and challenges and we in the centre recognise their value in driving standards upwards. In January we will organise internal workshops and challenges among current students to select more high-quality team members. I firmly believe that this result demonstrates the quality of our education programme in cyber security. Southampton produces students of the very highest calibre in cyber security, so if youâre interested in undergraduate MEng, postgraduate MSc or research PhD in cyber security donât forget to apply to Southampton.â?
The aim of this course is to develop skills in reading scientific and technology publications, their comprehension and in forming of critical judgement. It will involve independently carrying out a literature research on a set topics from the area of photonics, optoelectronics and optical telecommunications, of relevance to the current and future industrial applications and the effective communication of the findings in a written and as well as in oral presentations.
The first part of the course is devoted to exploring a broad area of the topic and the current trends, assessed via short executive summary and an oral presentation. The second part consists of a more specialised dissertation which focuses on a particular idea, experimental design or a model, setting out the details and the requirements for a future R&D project and is assessed via a written report.
Industrial dissertations will have their topics set by industrial companies and will be co-supervised by industrial partners. This module serves as preparation for the Industrially Co-Supervised Project/R&D Project OPTO6014 in semester 3.
Aims & Objectives
Aims
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
develop ability to present complex material at a suitable level.
Subject Specific Intellectual
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:
effectively search the scientific literature, technical reports, papers and books as well as a variety of online resources
demonstrate independence in exploring scientific or technology concepts and with the aim of finding practical solutions
develop a critical approach to the general and technical literature and the ability to select the most relevant information
improve skills in writing a clear and structured report on a scientific topic
Transferable and Generic
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:
develop confidence and clarity in verbal communication
develop clarity in written communication
increase awareness and ability to manage time effectively to meet deadlines
Subject Specific Practical
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:
develop document preparation skills including creating figures, equations, tables and a bibliography
process the most relevant information to provide a solution and explanation to a given scientific or technological problem , developing problem solving skills
Syllabus
In the first part, the students will individually research a topic set by their industrial supervisors. The topic, accompanied by short abstract, will be from the current and upcoming ideas and challenges from the areas such as photonics, optoelectronics, optical telecommunications or related areas. Some may be interdisciplinary and include some elements of mathematics, biology, chemistry, engineering, nanoscience or related technologies and products.
In general, the topics will not be routine, where detailed description is already available in textbooks or have been discussed at depth during lecture courses. The material gathered during from the scientific and technical literature research will need to be synthesised into coherent conclusions. Therefore, scientific judgement would be required in identifying key references, the core concepts and the main findings. This specialised content has to be set and discussed in a broader context of a particular area. Creativity, going beyond the abstracts are strongly encouraged.
The module aims to set the students on a path to develop initiative as R&D researchers, being able to review and extract from literature the prospects of a particular technology or idea. It also aims to promote be self-sufficiency, learning how to manage such tasks independently. While supervisors will be available for consultation, the work will need to be carried out without seeking detailed scientific or technical supervision, help or guidance from academic or research staff.
In the second part, more specialised topic will have to be researched and the report written, demonstrating again clear comprehension of more technical details, fundamental as well as practical constraints, as well as exercising critical judgement of the findings. The focus of this more technical dissertation is on gaining stronger confidence in exploring independently a particular idea or concept, developing analytical and problem solving skills to plan an experiment or a model to test given idea. It is also serves as training in time management, in particular working out the right balance between literature research, drawing conclusions and solving the challenges as well as writing up a report.
Learning & Teaching
Learning & teaching methods
There will be an introductory lecture outlining the details of the module, its timeline, expectations and requirements. Academic/industrial supervisors will be available every week for one hour (office hour) for a drop in sessions, offering general advice and guidance, but not detailed supervision of the work.
Activity
Description
Hours
Seminar
1 hour introduction to the module per semester
Project supervision
consultation and office hours
11
Project supervision
2 review meetings
2
Assessment
Assessment methods
Method
Hours
Percentage contribution
Executive summary
-
20%
Presentation
-
25%
Industrial specialised dissertation
-
55%
Referral Method: By re-write of the project report and re-viva (the original progress report mark will be carried forward)
Students must get at least 50% mark to pass this course and progress to take Industrially Co-Supervised Project OPTO6014. The students who fail to meet this target will revert to taking the general OPTO6012 project. Furthermore, they have the following referral arrangements.
By first Monday (9 am) of the Supplementary Exam period the students will need to submit:
1) their specialised industrial dissertation and
2) Power Point (or a similar format) file containing presentation of the main results of the first, more general part of their literature research.
If the specialised dissertation was submitted and marked, improved and amended version has to be submitted. There will be no oral presentation of the results.
The topics of research projects will be decided by collaboration between an ORC or P&A supervisor and an industrial supervisor based in a local company. Topic areas will include different concepts in photonic materials and in design, fabrication and testing of device-oriented applications in photonic technology.
Each student will work under a supervision of a senior research/academic staff member and a representative of the company involved. A project will start with a meeting between a student and their supervisors, where technical goals, a workplan and the schedule of work will be agreed. This plan will be written up by a student, checked by his/her supervisors and then submitted for approval to the Project Course coordinator. The research work will be performed primarily within the University at the ORC or P&A labs or offices. Regular meetings will also be arranged with the industrial supervisor to report the progress and confirm the plan for the next period. While the daily supervision will be done by the academic supervisor , the contact with the industrial supervisor and the feedback from them on the performance should prove valuable and the students could, for example, ask for a letter of reference upon successful completion of their MSc R&D projects
Weekly meetings will then take place throughout the project duration with a supervisor or, if a supervisor is unavailable, a delegated deputy. The Project course coordinator will need to be notified about such arrangements and know the names of those temporary deputies. Following the research part of the project, a report will be written up by a student that will cover both the results achieved as well as covering in-depth their relevant physics and engineering background. An additional short report covering the relevance of the project work within the context of the company’s future plans will make up part of the final assessment.
The students should aim to complete all research and data analysis by the end of August to allow sufficient time for writing up reports. The deadline for submitting the reports is the end of September. In case of late submission, the standard, University approved penalties will apply, except for well justified cases. Any such extensions have to be requested in advance and in writing to the Project Module coordinators.
A part of the project for all students is the “industrial showcase” which involves interaction with the relevant industry (photonic technologies) giving a flavour of the business aspect of the technology to the students. The students learn how to conduct a SWOT analysis to evaluate the performance of a business and are asked to write a short essay. The industrial showcase takes place during the Easter holiday and includes a full week of interacting with local industry. The assignment should be completed within 15 days after showcase week. The industrial showcase work is independent of the student’s industrial project work, and is common to both the industrial and standard MSc project modules.
The aims of this module are:
develop advanced practical skills and enhance in-depth understanding of relevant background knowledge and in a chosen specialist subject
embed the correct approach and methodology for independent work carried out in a research-led environment, with a focus on the applied and R&D side, in particular within the cleanrooms and optical labs of the ORC
train in technical and hands-on research skills to gain technology insight into concepts covered during taught courses to prepare for a career in research and development.
Introduce the students directly to the business aspect of research.
Aims & Objectives
Aims
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
Important scientific and technological principles relevant to a chosen topic of a project
use and applications of specialist tools, equipment and techniques used to design, fabricate, test or characterise the materials or devices developed in a project
The basic principles of operation of the components used, both in terms of the scientific as well as the technical background
Current state of the art, including the research advances as well as in device or fabrication capabilities, relevant to a scope of a project
Relevance of research to industry, feasibility study of taking ideas out of the lab to be ready for potential commercial exploitation
Subject Specific Intellectual
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:
have confidence and practice in gaining new knowledge and understanding through critical reading of research resources such as scientific papers or books
discuss their results, review methods used, draw conclusions and plan future work
apply the newly acquired knowledge to solving specialist design or characterisation problems
Demonstrate the ability to assess and discuss the research part of the project to evaluate the viability of potential new devices and therefore learning to encompass the principle of concept to device.
Assess the commercial importance of a research project within a given industrial context
Transferable and Generic
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:
Experienced in a range of practical and experimental lab-based skills
Present specialist technical information in written and verbal forms
Able to work independently on a significant research project
Able to defend the results and the report in front of senior scientists who will explore both the fundamental and practical understanding as well as abilities.
Subject Specific Practical
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:
Operate and control specialist tools and processes with the cleanroom environment
Fabricate photonic devices with due care paid to health and safety and current operating procedures relevant to a cleanroom environment
Write a project dissertation that will provide a coherent, logical and accurate description of the work carried out and capturing the most important achievements of the project
Learning & Teaching
Learning & teaching methods
Assessment
Assessment methods
Method
Hours
Percentage contribution
Dissertation (final)
-
50%
Report (mid-term)
-
16%
Presentation
-
16%
Industrial review
-
10%
Assignment
-
8%
Referral Method: There is no referral opportunity for this syllabus in same academic year
Web and Internet Science (WAIS) academics have deployed a revamp of Southamptonâs Web Observatory site â a resource that enables more meaningful engagement with data analytics.
The revamp will be implemented on other Web Observatory sites worldwide, providing a global distributed resource to discover, use and share datasets and analytics.
The concept of Web Observatories was developed and promoted by the University of Southampton six years ago as a way of fostering Web Science research. They are an emerging global resource that aims to provide a distributed catalogue of datasets and apps that can be shared and accessed in a secure manner.
There are now 11 Web Observatories around the world, each focusing on different aspects including Web Science, disaster management and health and care for the elderly. They provide the means to observe the digital planet, explore its processes, and understand their impact on different sectors of human activity, by nurturing communities exchanging and using each otherâs Web-related datasets, as well as sharing analytic applications for research and business Web applications.
Now an improved Southampton Web Observatory has been implemented making the site even more engaging, user-friendly and easy to access.
Key improvements include:
A new user interface making it easier for businesses, entrepreneurs, researchers and the public to engage with datasets and analytics.
An improved search function across different Web Observatory sites.
Better security allowing control of who can access resources.
Single sign-in allowing access across different Web Observatory sites.
Thanassis said: âThis is a key upgrade for engagement with the Web Observatory; better user interface, search function, single sign-in, and tutorials to make it easier for everyone to use and contribute datasets and apps. A great team has been working hard on this deployment and we are all excited about its potential.â?
Dame Wendy Hall, Professor in WAIS and Managing Director of the Web Science Trust, said: âThis is a big step forward towards a global network of Web Observatories that will empower researchers in Web Science and beyond.â?
The University of South Australia Web Observatory and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) PETRAS-funded Internet of Things Observatory are also being upgraded.
Fresh scientific direction from a Southampton cyber expert is advancing secure cloud computing solutions for the public sector in an EU research and innovation programme.
Professor Vladimiro Sassone, Director of the University of Southamptonâs Cyber Security Academy, has reshaped the Horizon 2020 SUNFISH project since being appointed Scientific Leader in the summer.
SUNFISH, which stands for SecUre iNFormatIon SHaring in federated heterogeneous private clouds, is overcoming current infrastructural and legislative barriers to develop and integrate software enabling computing clouds for European public sector bodies. The project is first meeting the specific challenges faced by the Maltese and Italian Ministries of Finance, as well as the UKâs Regional Cyber Crime Units.
Professor Sassone, part of the Universityâs department of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS), has turned to the âblockchainâ distributed database method as an innovative infrastructure for base cloud computing. Under his leadership, the project has formulated the concept of Federation-as-a-service (FaaS).
âWe had started the systematic study of FaaS, having identified blockchain as an exciting vehicle to implement the concept,â? he said. âFaaS and blockchain are two largely independent things, but their combination â a new notion for cloud computing â offers us something really valuable and is already attracting the attention of the European establishment. The ideas were presented at the Italian Parliament in November in a round table discussion about the future of IT in public administration. Iâll also be speaking at a government conference in January.â?
Professor Sassone believes the projectâs technological solutions open the way for blockchain technologies to be used as an infrastructure to support the Internet of Things in the future.
His team, based in ECS' Agents, Interaction and Complexity research group, consists of researchers Andrea Margheri, Sadek Ferdous and Mu Yang, alongside PhD students David Young and Shorouq Alansari, and visiting student Edoardo Gaetani.
Dr Francesco Paolo Schiavo, Director General of Information Systems and Innovation at the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance and Project Coordinator for SUNFISH, commented: âIâm very satisfied with the results we are producing. The appointment of Professor Sassone as the projectâs Scientific Leader is proving really fruitful, and I am grateful to him for his work and commitment.â?
Successful trials of 'CharIoT', a unique new system that simultaneously records temperature, humidity and energy use in the home, have opened the way for low-income households to save money while reducing risks to their health.
Researchers from Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) at the University of Southampton, alongside the University of Nottingham and the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE), developed Chariot with funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
Harnessing Internet of Things (IoT) technology, the system generates easy-to-use data that can help local authorities, housing associations, energy suppliers, health authorities and others to target and tailor the energy advice they give to vulnerable people.
As well as revealing under-heated or over-heated parts of a home, Chariot enables energy advisors to pinpoint where and why damp or mould may pose a problem. They can then suggest, for example, ways of using heaters more efficiently and cost-effectively, blocking draughts and eliminating dampness through better ventilation.
Each Chariot kit includes three small wireless sensors that regularly record the temperature and humidity in the rooms they are placed in, and wireless devices that monitor gas and electricity consumption. Data is forwarded to and stored securely in the Âcloud and later analysed via tablet or computer using a simple-to-use web-based interface.
Chariot has now been trialled in over 20 low-income homes. A user guide helps energy advisors to make the most of the graphs and tables that the system generates and to provide tips geared to individual households needs  including measures as simple as fitting thicker curtains or loft insulation, or improving air circulation. Of potential value to all households and not just low-income ones, Chariot is now being promoted to potential user organisations across the UK and the team is exploring ways of adding further functionality.
Cold or damp can exacerbate medical conditions ranging from colds, flu, arthritis and asthma to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), circulatory diseases and mental illness. In total, nearly 1 million people in the UK suffer from COPD, for example, while cardio-vascular disease causes 42,000 premature deaths a year. People in the coldest houses can be most at risk.
Researchers from the University of SouthamptonÂs Agents, Interaction, and Complexity research group in ECS developed the sensor boards, algorithms, and user interfaces that were deployed during the project. The challenge was to ensure the kit was cheap enough to deploy at scale, and that the data visualisation employed was legible to a non-expert.
Dr Enrico Costanza, who led the research while at Southampton, says: ÂChariot is the only system of its kind that collects data on temperature, humidity and energy use (and therefore CO2 emissions) all at the same time. It makes it easy for advisors to understand whatÂs going on energy-wise in a house, to make the householder aware of what the problems are and ultimately to get their buy-in to make the necessary beneficial changes.Â
The work in the Chariot Project is now being taken forward as the ÂChariot Agile project in an attempt to further mature the technology. Dr Sarvapali Ramchurn, who now leads the work at the University of Southampton says: ÂThe Chariot kit will be both more affordable and more usable than most solutions out there. We will be putting state-of-the-art analytics engines in the hands of energy advisors so that they can provide the best recommendations to help the fuel poor save money and live more comfortably.Â
Dr Nick Banks of the CSE says: ÂItÂs not just a question of cutting energy use and greenhouse emissions. By giving energy advisors a tool that allows them to inform themselves and then sit down with a householder and talk through problems and solutions, it offers a very practical route to making wiser energy choices and therefore improving quality of life and enhancing health among vulnerable and low-income groups, who often suffer serious health impacts due to cold and damp homes.Â
The 18-month CharIoT project began in October 2014 and ended in March 2016, receiving a total of just over £277,000 in EPSRC funding. The 6-month CharIoT Agile project began in October 2016 and will end in March 2017. It is funded by EPSRC from the Impact Acceleration fund.