Free cyber security program propelling prototypes of the future

By Raja Ravi Founder and Director of Swan Foresight

When Raja Ravi, Founder and Director of Swan Foresight, first heard about CSIRO’s Innovate to Grow, he was excited to see how his business could progress their potential R&D opportunity. For him, the prospect of having direct access to mentors with expertise in R&D in the sector of his choosing was an opportunity too good to pass up.

Swan Foresight is a start-up with a vision to co-create sustainable and secured futures and eco-systems using the latest technologies, both ethically and safely.

Their primary focus is on the renewable energy sector and small-medium businesses, and they are in the process of developing two cybersecurity products and consulting services, in addition to their existing consulting work in IT and Security domains.

The Innovate to Grow Cyber security program presented the opportunity to further develop a business idea Raja had for developing a Distributed Energy Resource (DER) security model, and he found the brainstorming sessions with experts from CSIRO, universities and industry and the structure of the program to assist greatly in bringing this forward.

“The participants and mentors were really of tremendous value to bring things together, establishing deeper connections and enabling us to expand our networks of sharing ideas to help materialise them and take them to the next stage,” Raja said.

“The program helped me to open discussions with the University of Melbourne, microgrids and other academics to keep advancing the idea.”

Currently, the prototype is being tested at a microgrid, with research papers being published in notable journals also. With all this momentum, Raja foresees their prototype working in a production environment at a microgrid by the end of 2023.

“This is one of the programs that helped me gain confidence to invest my time and money to give some shape to the idea,” Raja said.

“The important thing is that innovation is not a straight line. It is a journey with lot of twists, loops, and turns. While the idea is what we believe in, we are sure that programs like this help us and steer us in this journey with better preparation and less surprises.”

Expressions of Interest are now open for the next round of CSIRO’s Innovate to Grow program for Cyber security and digital technologies, proudly supported by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources.