Hundreds of school and college students get a taste for a career in cyber security

Students from schools and colleges across Wales attended a cyber security pathways event delivered by the CyberFirst Wales, University of South Wales (USW) and industry partners to give them a taste of careers in cyber security. The event was sponsored by the Cyber Innovation Hub.

USW hosted the event at its Newport Campus as part of its work with the CyberFirst Wales programme. USW leads on the CyberFirst Wales programme, in partnership with Swansea and Bangor Universities.

CyberFirst is led by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which aims to raise awareness of cyber security education, including pathways into the industry and academia, as well as the opportunities that are linked to it.

The pathways event, which is part of the Schools and Colleges programme within CyberFirst Wales, took place on Wednesday 11 December. It was the second event hosted by USW, with the first being held in 2023.

The event provided an opportunity for around 300 pupils aged 11 to 18 from schools and colleges across Wales to participate in masterclasses related to cyber security. The masterclasses were run by USW lecturers as well as industry partners that work with CyberFirst including Airbus, The Intellectual Property Office, SudoCyber, TechnoCamps, iTSUS consulting and more.

The sessions were geared towards helping schools and colleges achieve their CyberFirst Schools Award, as well as giving the pupils the chance to gain age-appropriate cyber security skills. These included activities related to cryptography, digital forensics, Artificial Intelligence in cyber security and more.

There was a mixture of practical and hands-on sessions, allowing students to engage as well as showing teachers how they could adapt these activities back at their schools and colleges. This is another key aspect of how USW support schools and colleges in attaining or reapplying for their Cyber First Schools Award.

The event was followed by a networking and information session for teachers and advisers to highlight developments within the CyberFirst Wales programme, and to encourage them to sign up as ambassadors to enable them to teach cyber skills.

Rhys Driscoll, Partner Development and Outreach Lead for Cyber Security at USW, said:

“Our second CyberFirst Wales Pathways event was a huge success. This year, we tweaked the event to give schools and colleges even more of what they valued from last year, allowing time for more hands-on, practical learning.

“The event gave pupils from schools and colleges across Wales a chance to experience the many areas of cyber security that they could venture into. Thanks to our various industry partners and USW colleagues, students were provided with ample, engaging opportunities to learn and ask questions.  

“We are particularly thankful to Cyber Innovation Hub (CIH) for being our headline sponsors for this event and for holding a stall in the cyber fair.”

The Head of CyberFirst and Regional lead from NCSC also attended the event:

“The NCSC is dedicated to fostering diverse talent within the cyber security industry, but this effort requires collaboration. Academia and industry play crucial roles, and it was encouraging to see the Wales Ecosystem unite to highlight the variety of cyber security roles available in Wales. The students had an enriching experience, and the range of presentations was impressive. Many thanks to USW and the Cyber Innovation Hub for organising a successful and impactful event.”