Ahmed Salman

Ahmed is a DPhil student of Cybersecurity at the University of Oxford. Prior to this, he worked in the public sector in Pakistan for over 20 years, participating in several multimillion-dollar projects within the fields of communications and cybersecurity. During this time, he had the opportunity to work across Pakistan, including the far-flung regions of Baluchistan and Gilgit Baltistan. As a communications specialist, Ahmed participated in two disaster relief operations in the Gilgit Baltistan region.
Throughout his career, he excelled in numerous courses on communication and cybersecurity both in Pakistan and abroad. In recent years, Ahmed established one of the first Security Operations Centers (SOCs) in Pakistan and contributed to the development of the security architecture of communication networks.

In 2021, he was awarded a competitive scholarship by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan for DPhil in Cybersecurity. His doctoral research at Oxford is collectively funded by HEC and the Oxford Pakistan Program and concentrates on cybersecurity operations in resource-constrained environments, with the goal of identifying optimal architectures to enhance cybersecurity readiness in organizations with limited resources.

After completing his DPhil, Ahmed plans to pursue a research-oriented role in Pakistan’s academia. His hope is to leverage his experience and education to drive change in Pakistan’s cybersecurity landscape. His plans include establishing a Center of Excellence to facilitate the development of a modern cybersecurity curriculum, conducting policy-influencing research, and mentoring the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.