How my PhD at Cardiff Met helped me embrace change and support businesses in Wales

Change. Aristotle’s definition of change is “the actualization of what is potentially, qua. potential.”

Three years ago, “change” happened in my life. A PhD was gifted to me in the form of a fully-funded Welsh Government project, through the Knowledge Economic Social Scholarship Fund (KESS2) initiative supported by our business, Aytel Systems Ltd, in Cyber Security.

Previous “changes” had come in different packages of an “exciting and unknown change” in family migration from Malaysia to the UK to attaining an undergraduate degree in Electronic Engineering at Cardiff University. This was followed by “scary change” in getting married too young, experiencing my first-born child which was “exhilarating and an amazing change” to ending up in “depressive change” getting divorced.

“Acceptance in change” occurred again, being a single parent and moving back to Wales to rebuild my confidence with support from family and close friends. “Crazy change” took over in deciding to do another degree in Accounting and “even crazier change” happened when completing my Master’s degree in IT and Finance at Cardiff Metropolitan University, whilst working away at night school. Meeting new people, venturing into new cities and watching my son grow up in Cardiff gave me the best life lessons to experience.

“Happy and settled change” happened when I remarried into a happy family environment, meeting my husband and having a colourful career to be proud of. The opportunity and experience of running a business was also presented to me, and this allowed consolidation of skills in making a better version of myself. The more I embraced “change”, the more it allowed me to build a stronger life around me.

The PhD was indeed a compliment to the “excited and nervous change”, knowing that through this process, once again, life would shift positively for me. The project fitted nicely into the Wales Industry 4.0 vision, an initiative for Wales 4.0 in response to the challenges and opportunities posed by the fourth industrial revolution in terms of cyber security issues. The research had a direct impact on our business, as an IT and Infrastructure company, challenged with the fast paces in cyber security and threats. Thus, the journey on cyber security interventions and its impact on other business in Wales began. The project has given me motivation to build my knowledge.

My interactions with people and process have given me the upper hand in confidence and understanding towards the subject. I have proven to myself that whilst it can seem like years, when “change” finally is actualized, it can once again take on a different form and move you forward. The completion of the PhD is a proof to myself that I have now actualised my own future and I’m finally be able to say, the Cyber Doctor is in the house!

Cheers to “Change” and not being afraid of it.