Cyber Academy
Year Awarded
2020
Amount
€48,814
- Organisation:Munster Technological University (MTU)
- Audience:Transition Year Students
- Location:national
- Topic:Technology
Project Summary
There is a significant lack of awareness and skills around cybersecurity in society in general, and amongst young people in particular. Furthermore, Ireland has a dire shortage of cybersecurity professionals, which is placing our digital economy at risk.
The Cyber Academy is a series of fun and engaging activities for young people (11-18 year olds) to help them explore their passion for tech by introducing them to the world of cyber security:
1. Through the Cyber Summer Camp, students will explore general topics like personal information security and data sharing, technical topics such as cryptography and network security; while discussing the impact of cyber security on society.
2. Career talks from Cyber security professionals, from diverse roles and backgrounds, aim to change the perception of cyber security to an aspirational, mainstream career option for young people from all backgrounds.
3. The National Cyber Schools Challenge (NCSC) is a fun, national competition to test students skills as a hacker and learn cyber security skills, open to all ages (11-18 years) and no IT-background is required.
The Cyber Academy is preparing the next generation to contribute to Ireland’s economic growth and as a safe and secure place to live and work by promoting science and technology among school students, reducing gender imbalance in this field and improving proficiency in computer science among its trainees.