On Thursday, 6th February 2025, from 10am to 3pm, iCSS organised a combined CyberFirst Trailblazers and Adventurers event at The Folkestone School for Girls. This was the first pilot of such CyberFirst courses the University of Kent ran independently as a member of the CyberFirst programme of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC, part of GCHQ).
CyberFirst Trailblazers and Adventurers are two half-day courses created for Year 8 and Year 9 students, respectively. They are designed to showcase the varied career opportunities that can be achieved through understanding how computing technology works in the workplace and everyday life. They aim to excite and enthuse school pupils to consider selecting GCSE Computer Science for their future study, potentially leading to a career in cyber security in the long term. They are designed to counter the stereotype that computer science is just about programming and coding. More about the two courses can be found on NCSC’s official website at https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberfirst/resources.
The event was organised by the iCSS (Institute of Cyber Security for Society) of the University of Kent. In addition to iCSS and the host school, the event was supported by KMCS3 (Kent & Medway Cyber Security Student Society). It is part of the activities of the KMCSN (Kent & Medway CyberSchools Network), a local schools network on cyber security and online safety education co-founded by iCSS, KMCC (Kent & Medway Cyber Cluster Ltd) and The STEM Hub managed by Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU).
The event saw over 40 girls studying at The Folkestone School for Girls participating in one of the two parallel courses, and at the end, they all received their CyberFirst certificates as a proof of their hard work. The CyberFirst Trailblazers course was led by Shujun Li, Director of iCSS and Professor of Cyber Security at the University of Kent’s School of Computing, with support from Temesgen Kitaw Damenu, a PhD student at the University of Kent’s School of Computing, and Maryam Anwar, a Year 2 UG student of the University of Kent’s School of Computing. The CyberFirst Adventurers course was led by Mihai Marin Moraru, President of KMCS3 and a Year 2 UG student at the University of Kent’s School of Computing, with support from Yichao Wang, a PhD student at the University of Kent’s School of Computing, and Matthew Boakes, a researcher at the Alan Turing Institute (ATI), a current Assistant Lecturer and a former UG/PhD student at the University of Kent.
Professor Shujun Li, who also leads the operation of KMCSN and the cyber skills activities of KMCC, said: “We thank The Folkstone School for Girls for working with us to pilot the CyberFirst Trailblazers and Adventurers courses. It was the first time we ran the two courses following the NCSC-provided training materials, and there was a lot to learn! We were very happy to see the girls enjoyed both courses. With the success of the pilot event, we are now very confident we can run more such courses in the future!”
Mihai Marin Moraru said, “This was my first time back in a school since I graduated a couple of years ago, and I must say it was great fun to be on the other side of things. I was positively surprised by the amount of interest and investment, in terms of time, effort and money, put in by the local teachers, going above and beyond what is required to offer the girls a multitude of insightful experiences like this one. For KMCS3, seeing this sort of engagement at a grassroots level is exactly what we stand and strive for – developing the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.”
Konrad Eke, Director of Careers and Leadership Learning at The Folkestone School for Girls, said “It was a great pleasure to work with the University of Kent on their pilot of the CyberFirst Trailblazer and Adventurer events. The team from the university ran the sessions well throughout the day and our students were actively engaged. This course provides a fantastic variety of hands-on activities, and the students loved the challenge… especially using the internet to identify a patient zero. I would highly recommend approaching Shujun to run this amazing opportunity in your school. It has further fuelled passion for the subject and encouraging more girls into Computing.”
The successful event will enable iCSS to run more CyberFirst Trailblazers and Adventurers events for KMCSN and local schools in the Kent and Medway region. Contact iCSS via cyber-info@kent.ac.uk if you are interested in hosting one or helping to deliver one.
The University of Kent is a UK Government recognised Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Education (ACE-CSE) with Gold award status (2023-29) and an Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research (ACE-CSR) (2015-17, 2018-23, 2024-29), among only eight UK universities with such double recognitions. The University was also named the ‘Cyber University of the Year’ of the inaugural Real Cyber Awards 2023 due to its active profile in all areas of cyber security, especially its wider impact and engagement activities. Cyber security activities of the University in all areas are coordinated by iCSS (Institute of Cyber Security for Society), a university-wide and interdisciplinary institute.
KMCS3 (Kent & Medway Cyber Security Student Society) was founded in 2023 as a student-facing society for engaging and supporting students who are studying at the University of Kent and interested in cyber security, online safety, and other broadly related topics. KMCS3 is affiliated with iCSS and has the ambition to eventually become an independently registered not-for-profit body representing all university students who are living or studying in the Kent and Medway region and are interested in cyber security. KMCS3 leaders can be reached via kmcs3-leaders@kent.ac.uk.
KMCSN (Kent & Medway CyberSchools Network) is a local schools network on cyber skills development co-founded in 2023 by iCSS, KMCC (Kent & Medway Cyber Cluster Ltd), and The STEM Hub managed by the Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU). It welcomes more local schools and teachers to join as organisational and individual members to co-develop cyber skills development activities for pupils in Kent and Medway. KMCSN is managed by the iCSS Director, Professor Shujun Li, who can be reached via kmcsn-admin@kent.ac.uk.
The Folkestone School for Girls is an innovative and high achieving school, providing an ambitious curriculum designed to encourage students to go beyond exam results. While students at FSG have access to a full slate of academic subjects, attaining excellent qualifications, they also enjoy a broader education through our bespoke FSG Bacc programme. Our students develop “courage, kindness, friendship, character”, mountain biking with friends, reaching new heights on the climbing wall and many other opportunities to develop teamwork and resilience. The Computing department at FSG is part of this vision, taking the subject beyond the classroom. Our students participate in a variety of exciting challenges including the CanSat competition, the UK Bebras Computing Challenge and the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition. We are proud to have worked with the University of Kent in delivering this year’s CyberFirst event, building on FSG’s successful first year of participation in 2023 where 45 eligible students participated in the challenge, and several went on to take part in a CyberFirst Investigators day at the University of Kent campus.