From 24th to 28th July, iCSS hosts around 50 school pupils on the Canterbury campus of the University for a one-week-long CyberFirst Advanced Course, delivered by QA Ltd and Smallpeice for the CyberFirst programme of the NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre).
The CyberFirst Advanced Course is for pupils of 16 or 17 year old who are already studying computer science or who have an interest and aptitude for computer science as a subject. Through the course, the pupils can expand their knowledge, skills and behaviours that are needed to prepare them for more advanced study in computer science and cyber security. The cyber security related skills they can learn include:
- Implementing digital forensics
- Understanding encryption technologies
- Using open source intelligence techniques
- Penetration testing
The course is completely free for participating pupils, and costs are fully covered by the NCSC for travel, accommodation and meals, and the University of Kent for rooms and computing infrastructure.
This course is the second time iCSS hosted CyberFirst courses on campus in 2023, after the Trailblazers and Adventurers courses hosted on 28th February for over 70 school pupils of Years 8 and 9 (see the news article about the February event).
As a major next step of iCSS’s school outreach activities, it is helping the University of Kent to become a member of the CyberFirst programme so that iCSS can deliver CyberFirst-branded events without relying on external suppliers.