We are very proud and happy to share our experiences and insights from our two Cyber Days at Corfe Hills and Parkstone Grammar Schools, where we had the opportunity to showcase our CyGamBIT project to almost 170 young people from nine secondary schools across Poole and Bournemouth.
These events were part of the CyberFirst programme supported by the National Cyber Security Centre, which aims to inspire and educate the next generation of cyber professionals.
CyGamBIT is a game-based learning tool that teaches cyber security and digital skills in a fun and interactive way. It is a web-based game that simulates real-world cyber scenarios and challenges players to solve them using their knowledge and skills. By playing CyGamBIT, players can learn about cyber security concepts such as encryption, authentication, phishing, malware, and more. They can also develop their critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork skills, which are essential for any career path.
We developed CyGamBIT as part of the CyberASAP InnovateUK programme, which supports academic teams to develop innovative cyber security solutions. We are an interdisciplinary team of researchers and practitioners from Bournemouth University, with backgrounds in computing, informatics, psychology, education, and design. Our project leads are Jane Henriksen-Bulmer and Emily Rosenorn-Lanng, and our project team includes Sam Ware, Stefan Kleipoedszus, Davide Melacca, with Stevie Corbin-Clarke skilfully helping at our events.
We were invited to participate in the Cyber Days by Charlotte Smith from CyNam (Cyber Cheltenham), who is a great supporter and collaborator of our project. We are very grateful to her for connecting us with the local cyber hubs, Corfe Hills School and Parkstone Grammar School, and their amazing staff who organised and hosted the events. We are also thankful to the KTN, which helped us refine and improve our game.
At the Cyber Days, we had the chance to present our game to the students and let them play it in groups. We also had the opportunity to interact with the students and answer their questions about the game and cyber security. We were very impressed by the enthusiasm, curiosity, and creativity of the students, who showed great interest and engagement in the game and the topic. We received very positive feedback from the students, who said that they enjoyed the game, learned a lot, and felt more confident and motivated about cyber security and digital skills. Some of the students even expressed their desire to pursue a career in cyber or related fields.
We also had the pleasure to hear from other experts from various cyber-related organisations, such as ESET, SeqQuest, C3iA, and Bournemouth University, who delivered some very interesting and informative talks to the students. They shared their insights and experiences on the careers and future of cyber, and gave some valuable advice and guidance to the students. We learned a lot from them and appreciated their support and contribution to the events.
We are very proud to be part of this interdisciplinary research and collaboration, which aims to make a positive impact on the society and the economy. We believe that CyGamBIT can help young people discover their potential and passion for cyber and open up new opportunities for their future. We hope to continue our work and reach more young people with CyGamBIT in the future.
If you want to learn more about CyGamBIT, you can visit our website and sign up for a free trial. You can also follow us on social media and stay tuned for our latest news and events. We hope you will join us on this exciting journey of learning and playing with CyGamBIT.