Around 300 students from across South Wales have attended an event to learn more about the opportunities available in the cyber sector.
The University of South Wales (USW) hosted the event at its Newport Campus as part of its work leading on the CyberFirst Schools and Colleges programme in Wales, which is run in partnership with the universities of Bangor and Swansea.
CyberFirst is led by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is part of the Government-run GCHQ, and was created to help young people explore their passion for tech by introducing them to the fast-paced world of cyber security.
The programme is also supported by two bodies which deliver computing and cyber outreach in Wales – Technocamps, and the Ebbw Vale-based National Digital Exploitation Centre (NDEC), which was co-developed by the Welsh Government, USW, and technology company Thales.
As part of this, the CyberFirst Schools and Colleges Award recognises institutions which have shown an excellent approach to cyber and computing education. In Wales, upon gaining the award, the schools and colleges are partnered with a cyber or technology business to work on a cyber-themed ‘engagement framework’ designed to support the institution to develop its cyber and computing education strategy.
Last week’s event is part of the CyberFirst Wales Engagement Framework, through which schools or colleges can experience the support which would be available to them should they successfully become a CyberFirst orgnanisation. This support is offered from experts operating across Wales in industry, academia, and government.
Holly Lidbury, who is Cyber First Project Lead at USW, said:
“The event was aligned to CyBok: The Cyber Body of Knowledge and introduced students to the 21 different knowledge areas which make up the cyber industry.
“The idea is to give them a taste of the different areas of cyber they could go into, to help demystify the sector, and help the students decide what area they would like to specialise in. Once they have identified this, they can speak to employers, universities, course providers to identify a ‘pathway’ they can follow to get into cyber.
“We’re also very grateful to Sudo Cyber for being headline sponsors of the event and donating use of their cyber learning platform for student to use on the day.”
The experts supporting the event came from a wide range of sectors, including USW, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Swansea University, Cardiff University, and Cardiff Metropolitan University from the higher education sector; Cyber College Cymru, the Information Commissioner’s Office, the Intellectual Property Office, Wales & West Utilities, British Telecom, Tarian, Itsus Consulting, PureCyber, Bridewell, Axyl Cloud, Airbus, PWC, Thales, Kocho, the NDEC, and Cyber Wales.
Hannah Ribeyro, HR Manager of Cardiff-based PureCyber, said:
“We are excited to attend the CyberFirst Pathways event as it plays a crucial role in guiding students towards their goals and opportunities available to them, whilst creating connections with between students and employers. Here at PureCyber we are passionate about providing support to individuals looking to start their career in cyber.”
Scott Nicholson, Co-CEO of Cardiff-based Bridewell added:
“We’re proud to be supporting the CyberFirst Pathways event. The CyberFirst scheme is a great way to help encourage more diversity into the Cyber Security industry and to provide them with insight and skills that they’ll need to succeed.”
