Students rise to the first CyberHub challenge

A group of creative, digital and media students from Barking & Dagenham College (@BarkingCollege) have showcased their talent in a special project set and run by The CyberHub Trust.

The 16-18-year-olds were given a brief to design some unique promotional material for the Trust that could be used on multimedia platforms. The students were asked to develop storyboards and scripts with ideas and concepts that would raise awareness of what the Trust does and the issues it deals with.

The event on 16th June saw the students present their ideas to a panel of judges, receiving expert feedback and advice. The judges included representatives from the CyberHub Trust’s special advisors and partners including the National Crime Agency, Experience Haus, the Career Colleges Trust and creative agencies `Find Your Feet’ and `We Explain Stuff’.

CEO of the CyberHub Trust, Michael Klonowski, said:

“It has been fantastic to hear and see the creative ideas generated by this talented group of students today. We wanted to set a challenge that really encouraged creativity and enabled the students to understand more about the work of The CyberHub Trust. The judges were impressed with the students’ work and their presentations. We look forward to running many more projects like this as we develop the Cyberhub Trust network around the UK.”

The CyberHub Trust promotes education and training within cyber security, supporting young people into the many exciting careers on offer within the industry. The Trust also works with schoolchildren, parents, senior citizens and adults wishing to re-skill or up-skill into new careers in cyber.

This includes the setting up of ‘CyberHubs’ at FE Colleges around the country, the first of which will be officially launched at Barking & Dagenham College in the Autumn.

The centrepiece of each hub is the ‘Security Operations Centre’, an industry-leading facility providing run by experts. These will provide training and work experience opportunities as well as providing local businesses with cyber security services and offering community outreach programmes.

Sponsored by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and advised by the National Crime Agency, with Bluescreen IT Ltd. as the primary service provider, each SOC is a security `Centre of Excellence’.

Today’s event is the first of many projects that the CyberHub Trust will be running over the coming months, as it focuses on engaging both college students and the wider community in cybersecurity.

Keytrin Petrova Gyumova (18) is on a Level 3 Games, Art and Animation course at the college. She said:

“I’m passionate about animation and this project made me realise how many different opportunities are available within the digital and creative industries. Work experience is so important and working with the CyberHub Trust has given me the chance to meet experts and professionals as well as building up my confidence.”

Animation and gaming student Lilijana Blazeviciute (17) presented a creative solution which raised awareness of some of the security issues associated with social media platforms.  She said:

“I’ve always loved art, particularly drawing landscapes. My dream now is to work in gaming design so I can combine my passions. Being involved in this project has been a fantastic experience and I am really grateful for all the support I’ve had.”

Anita Ededjo-Joseph (16), is on a Level 3 Games, Art and Animation course and worked on the Cyberhub project in a group of six. The team produced a video called ‘Cyber Choices’ scripted by student Chikondi Williams, highlighting issues like cyber bullying as well as promoting the role of the CyberHub Trust. Anita, who also acted in the video, said:

“I want to be a games developer so am really enjoying my course – and this project has been brilliant. I’ve learnt so much, including the importance of time management and organisation!”