IT Carlow computing showcase winners announced

A smart speaker with facial recognition for the elderly and hard-of-hearing, a delivery management system for independently owned restaurants, and an application to help organisations improve their online security are amongst the winners of IT Carlow’s tenth annual showcase of final year computing projects, sponsored by Netwatch.

The winners were announced today by a panel of experts from the department of computing at IT Carlow who were responsible for judging the entries. They included: Mr Richard Butler; Mr Ross Palmer; Dr Joseph Kehoe; Dr Enda Dunican.

Theodora Tataru, from Kilkenny, won the Software Development category for her project Pixel Smart Speaker with Face Recognition. Theodora developed a smart assistant for the Covid-19 era to aid the elderly, the hard-of-hearing and those who are physically isolated. The judges described it as “a perfectly executed development process integrating state-of-the-art technologies into a production-ready product. Everything about it was standout – the development process, the technologies used, the design of the smart speaker and the identification of the users for the product”.

The winners of the IT Management category were Davis Morris from Kilkenny, Mark Byrne from Wicklow and Vineeth Shaju from Portlaoise, for their delivery management system that applies technology solutions to independently owned restaurants that provide home delivery services. In their citation, the judges said the offering “deploys technology in a manner that reduces carbon emissions, reduces stress on employees and improves health and safety.  Given the growth of this type of industry during the pandemic it is essential that technology is utilised in a manner that assists it in achieving its social responsibility obligations”.

Martin Earls, from Newbridge, was winner of the Cyber Crime and IT Security category for his project entitled WINTRE: Adversary Simulation. WINTRE is an adversary simulation tool capable of executing tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) based on popular methods utilised by threat actors and advanced persistent threat groups. The application can be used to run techniques and produce detailed logs to help an organisation assess their current detection analytics.  The judges praised the project for “providing documentation for an organisation to help gain visibility over what nefarious techniques they can detect in their environment and highlight techniques currently not detected to improve an organisation’s security posture”.

The winner of the Computer Games Development category was Krystian Sarowski, from Kildare, for Procedural Content Generation for Rogue-like Game. The judges commented that, “Krystian expertly researched and developed several procedural generation algorithms for rogue-like games. The project was innovative, technically challenging and completed to an exceptionally high standard”.

Commenting on the winning projects, Declan McGrane, CIO, Netwatch Group said, “It was great how all of the students presented their projects online this year and, as we expected, they were of an excellent standard. The Netwatch R&D team continue to welcome interns and graduates from IT Carlow each year and many are still with us. The knowledge and experience these students bring to our team is testimony to the progressive environment of the IT Carlow computing department. Well done to all the graduates of 2021; the future is bright for the industry”.

IT Carlow’s final year computing showcase, which was available to view on the dedicated site https://showcase.itcarlow.ie, featured an extensive range of ideas and technologies from 100 students. Almost 70 projects – including 12 on cybercrime – covered subjects such as vulnerability management tools, using QR codes as a means of cyber-attack, and the design of a cost of breach calculator. Research postgraduate projects were wide-ranging and include topics such as augmented learning in adults with intellectual disabilities, the effect of gamification on time management in tertiary education, and an investigation of dynamic temperature monitoring and control in modular data centres.

Speaking after the announcement of winners, Nigel Whyte, Head of Department of Computing, Institute of Technology Carlow said, “The demand by employers for IT Carlow computing graduates is very high. They are regarded as being industry-ready, capable of working with the biggest tech companies in the world and the calibre of projects at this year’s showcase proves why. I am grateful to our collaborative partners, such as Netwatch, who work with us to ensure our students have the most up-to-date skills. I wish all of this year’s graduates success and satisfaction in a job they love as they set out on their careers”.

The Department of Computing has been a central and productive component at Institute of Technology Carlow for well over a quarter of a century. During this time, the department has developed and enhanced its reputation for producing talented graduates for leading national and international companies. Work placements are part of all undergraduate ordinary and honours degree programmes, including Software Development, Information Technology Management, Interactive Digital Art and Design, Computer Games Development and Cybercrime and IT Security.

Alumni are currently working for global leaders, such as: UNUM; IBM; Microsoft; Netwatch; SAP; Amazon; Apple; Intel; HP; AOL; SAGE; Aeria Games; Sony Entertainment; Google and Gamesparks.