Glasgow-based education platform launches Cyber Security course for young people

British Youth International College aims to help make the internet a safer place for young people by creating a community of cyber security experts to keep the future digital world secure

The British Youth International College (BYITC) is known for its innovative Maths, English and programming courses. Now, the online school has launched a Cyber Security programme for young people.

The BYITC was founded by Dr Rashmi Mantri in 2015, after she noticed gaps in her son’s arithmetic abilities. An IT trainer and software developer by trade – with a PhD in computer science to boot –, Rashmi took matters into her own hands and taught her son using an abacus model. The method was a success, and her son’s newfound numerical skills didn’t go unnoticed.

With fellow parents keen for Rashmi to share the abacus method, she started an after-school tuition programme – which has since snowballed into a highly successful global business, teaching thousands of students across the world. BYITC is also home to the world’s first online abacus maths learning application, developed to accommodate a growing number of students joining Rashmi’s virtual classroom.

Rashmi said: “Many great and successful businesses start with someone creating a product out of passion to fill a gap in society. The pandemic made all learning digital but we filled the gap of a fully functional and interactive Abacus Maths E-Learning Web Application.”

The Cyber Security programme is the school’s most recent venture, launched in May 2022. The course aims to equip young people with life skills that will not only keep them safe online, but also provide a significant boost on their CV. Rashmi believes the need for Cyber Security specialists will only grow in coming years.

She said: “Nowadays, everything is digital. Especially after the pandemic, everything is online – we cannot avoid it. And more digitalisation means more cyber threats. People should know how they can be safe online.”

Aimed at 12 to 18-year-olds, the programme offers both a 20-topic foundation course for beginners and a 40-topic advanced course. Students work in small groups, with bi-weekly lessons on subjects such as Malware, ethical hacking, coding languages, and mobile security.

Upon completion of the course, students can also take part in a digital Capture the Flag competition. This encourages participants to review the skills they have learned through the Cyber Security course and apply them to real-life scenarios.

The interactive challenge is open to students from 12 to 22 years old. It presents a series of problem-solving simulations in which participants face a variety of cyber threats and are tasked with finding a security solution for them. Participants earn Flags by successfully resolving the cyber security issue, and are then ranked accordingly – with prizes at stake.

Like its predecessors, the Cyber Security course demonstrates the school’s adaptable approach to education. It was created in response to a rapidly evolving digital environment, meeting the demand for teaching young people about safe Internet practices. For Rashmi, it is this flexible, student-centred approach that has driven the success of BYITC.

She added: “I want to make British Youth International College the most trusted brand in the education sector. A brand parents recognise, know they can trust, and give their children a future in our hands.”