The British Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (BAPCO) is the UK’s leading association for public safety communications professionals, drawing together experts from policing, fire, ambulance services, academia and industry. The Ian Thompson Bursary award is open to applicants of all ages in the first five years of working or studying in the field of critical communications in public safety. It is named after BAPCO’s former Chief Executive, Ian Thompson, who passed away in 2020, and who was a great advocate for education and developing young talent within the public safety industry.
Aoiffe won the award after judges were impressed with her passion for public safety and service, reflected in her application. Currently working on the Home Office’s Mission Critical Services MC_linX Dispatcher programme – a key system supporting the UK’s transition from TETRA to the Emergency Services Network (ESN) – Aoiffe has already played a hands-on role in developing secure cloud-based solutions designed to protect emergency services operations. Her work contributes to delivering sovereign UK cyber security capability for those on the blue light frontline.
Beyond engineering delivery, Aoiffe has spent time engaging directly with police, ambulance, and fire and rescue personnel, helping them understand and adopt the technology underpinning their future communications tools. The positive response she has received from emergency responders has further strengthened her passion for public safety-focused cyber security and her desire to continue supporting those who rely on secure, dependable technology in life-critical situations.
In applying for the bursary, Aoiffe emphasised the growing importance of embedding cyber security principles into public safety communications systems from the outset. As cyber threats targeting mission critical infrastructure continue to rise, she intends to use the bursary to explore how security practices can be better tailored to the unique needs of each emergency service, from protecting sensitive medical data in ambulance services to safeguarding operational intelligence within policing.
Through the bursary, she will gain access to BAPCO mentors, sector-leading events and further learning opportunities that will expand her insight into the evolving landscape of public safety communications. She also plans to share her findings with the wider community through contributions to the BAPCO Journal, conference presentations and knowledge sharing online to help raise awareness of best practice across the sector.
Aoiffe said: “Contributing to technology that directly supports emergency responders is incredibly meaningful to me,” she said. “Being selected for the bursary is an honour, and I’m excited to continue exploring how cyber security can strengthen public safety communications at a time when resilience is more important than ever.”