Blackburn College lights up CyberFest with a focus on next-generation cybersecurity

Families across Lancashire flocked to Blackburn College at the weekend for a unique interactive festival aimed at demystifying the world of cyber security.

The event, CyberFest was held on Saturday (February 8), as a collaboration between Blackburn College, community organisations One Voice and IMO and tech company IN4.0 Group.

Visitors were able to experience dozens of fun games and activities, aimed at getting children interested in cyber, as well as teaching ways to youngsters and adults, on how to be safe online.

CyberFest was held at the College’s state-of-the-art University centre, and saw hundreds of children, and their parents, take part in dozens of games and activities, aimed at getting children interested in cyber as well as teaching ways on how to be safe online.

From programming racing bee robots to cyber-related spy ‘missions’, the activities were designed to engage with children aged from six, and featured prizes, including Lego sets, robotic hands and an iPad.

Blackburn College Principal Dr Fazal Dad CBE said: “We are thrilled with the turnout, and judging by all the smiles and laughter, it’s very clear that the children, and their parents, have had a fantastic time too.

“Lancashire is a region of historic innovation, and with the opening of the National CyberForce Centre, it is clear that Lancashire will be the home of cyber security, and technological innovation, for years to come.

“It is so important to educate not just about cyber, but also cyber security, and how to stay safe in this digital age, and that’s what CyberFest is all about.

“Every activity I saw was packed with children, and there were smiles all round, which is especially wonderful, because they were learning vital skills, such as how to create a strong password and about data security.

“We are very grateful to OneVoice, IN4 Group and IMO for working with us on such a large, and important project, and we are delighted that so many people visited.”

Children could take part in a virtual phishing exercise in the BLIS Suite, the blended learning interactive simulation room where participants were encouraged to search for passwords and spot phishing emails – fake messages sent to look like they are from companies, but designed to steal users’ data and information.

Umayr Mir, Blackburn College Cyber/Digital Development Lead, said: “Our state-of-the-art BLIS Suite is just one of the many technologies we have embraced at the College in order to provide the best education possible to our learners.

“There has been massive growth in the cyber industry in the region in recent years, and that is only expected to increase, especially with the opening of the National CyberForce centre in Salmesbury.

“Events like this are just part of what we are doing at Blackburn College to help youngsters, and their parents, realise and embrace the potentially limitless opportunities that can arise from a career in cyber.

“There is so much going on in the digital world, which is leading to a cyber revolution in Lancashire.

“We’re not waiting for future developments. We’re here now, training thousands of students with cutting-edge cyber and digital skills, placing us ahead of the curve.”

One Voice Blackburn is a charity which focuses on uplifting marginalised communities, and they ran a number of activities on the day, including Cyber Mythbusting, bee robot programming and Cyber Career Exploration.

Saleha Kassam, Youth Services Manager at One Voice Blackburn, said: “CyberFest is a great introduction for children, and their parents, to an emerging field that has huge career potential.

“It has been great to organise and showcase, in a fun and interactive way, just how many different avenues and activities that are involved in cyber.

“There are more opportunities opening up all the time in the region, and we are working to help educate and inform our community members just how lucrative, and rewarding, choosing a career path in cyber can be.”

IMO is also a community charity that works within the Blackburn with Darwen area and the Pennine corridor, to help underrepresented social groups.

Their activities on the day was themed around spying, and served to help educate children about cyber threats and dangers.

IN4.0 Group are a digital skills training and business support company, who brought a number of robots to the event, as well as a VR escape room.

Director of Strategic Services Lauren Monks said: “We were very grateful to be involved in CyberFest, and think it has been a fantastic event.

“Ultimately, it’s all about educating children, and their parents, just how viable cyber is as a career path.

“Some of our activities, with the K1 Robots, involved getting children to do block coding.

“Block coding is the first step in learning how to create your own computer code, and if a youngster gets interested in block coding at a young age, eventually they may go on to writing their own code – and there is every possibility they’ll end up creating revolutionary technology.”