A statement from the university said the funding was provided as part of the CSIRO's Data 61 Next Generation Emerging Technologies Graduates Program.

The skilling effort, known as Building National Cybersecurity Capabilities for Digital Transformation in Manufacturing, will use a multi-disciplinary team from various industries to teach these skills.

The students who will be admitted to the program will be mentored by 17 individuals from Swinburne, Monash University, UNSW ADFA and James Cook University, together with DXC Technology, Amazon, ASTA and Sysbox.

Chief investigator and Swinburne’s dean of Digital Research, Professor Yang Xiang, said: “It is important that the next generation across all industries, including manufacturing, are skilled in cyber security – including network and system security, data analytics, AI, blockchain, distributed systems and networking.

"Soft skills and cyber security awareness will also be a focus for the next generation graduates."

“Beyond cyber security, students will learn to innovate. Digital transformation is rapidly evolving in the 21st century, and Swinburne positions students to drive the next generation of technology and how technology and people work together to build a better world.”

Swinburne deputy vice-chancellor, Research, Professor Karen Hapgood said: “CSIRO is a highly valued partner for Swinburne University of Technology and we are thrilled to see this project supported by the Next Generation Emerging Technologies Graduates Program.

“The project brings together Swinburne’s research expertise in digital transformation and manufacturing, as well as our strengths in work integrated learning and graduate employability.”