STUDENTS in Years 8 and 9 from across Gloucestershire attended the county’s first Tech Week organised by CyNam as the University of Gloucestershire hosted its annual EmPowerCyber event.

The university’s event was designed to educate and inspire students to explore careers in cybersecurity and technology.

Students attended on Ada Lovelace Day, a day to celebrate her legacy, and to inspire girls to explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The day consisted of three sessions; one delivered to girls-only, one aimed at students with special educational needs and disabilities, and an open session for all.

Professor Cathia Jenainati, Head of the School of Business, Computing and Social Sciences, said: “We are proud to host and sponsor this incredibly important initiative which aims to support those who are underrepresented in the cyber workforce by developing their digital skills and exploring careers in the field.

“We value our partnership with cyber and technology organisations, local businesses, and educators. Together we strive to inspire future talent and celebrate inclusion in the cyber industry. Events like this help to cement Gloucestershire’s future as the cyber capital of the UK.”

Students also had the opportunity to get hands-on with FutureCraft, the groundbreaking new app developed by Amazon Web Services and the Golden Valley Skills Hub partners, which includes the university.

Students at the event interacted with the app, solving challenges and puzzles designed to test pattern spotting, problem solving and analytical thinking, ahead of the app’s official roll-out to schools and colleges.

The university’s involvement in the event follows its recent staff and student successes in the technology and cyber field. Two apprentices on the Cyber Security Degree Apprenticeship programme, were recently tasked with the set-up of IT and cyber security systems in cyber security company Leonardo’s new building in Bristol.

Buck Rogers, a Professor in Cyber Security, also celebrated success with the publication of his article Protecting Self-Hosted Payment Systems Against Ransomware: A Comprehensive Guide in the first edition of The Journal of Financial Services. His article provided key recommendations to strengthen digital resilience in financial organisations.

The news comes at a time when digital technology is the attention of the local community, following the recent ‘Get Online Week’ where Forest of Dean residents were able to take advantage of helpful workshops set up by the Forest Voluntary Action Forum. Events were in Cinderford, Lydney, Staunton and Corse.

Alex Digby Digital Projects Manager of the Gloucestershire Digi Hubs Project at FVAF said: “Going digital for Foresters is even more important now for the rural district, in order to access some services which are being moved online, employability and transport for instance. There’s more working from home jobs available, so being able to get online opens up more opportunities for work.”

The main objectives of the campaign was to support individuals with accessing digital tools and resources, empower people to connect, learn, and thrive in an increasingly digital society, and to remove barriers of digital inclusion to ensure everyone can benefit from being online.