From encrypted history lessons to cyber escape rooms, Cheltenham’s CyberFirst Regional Knowledge Share proved that the future of cyber education is creative, collaborative, and unstoppable. A day of big ideas, brilliant people, and game-changing inspiration!

On Tuesday, August 5th, I had the pleasure of attending an inspiring and jam-packed day at CyberFirst’s Regional Knowledge Share event hosted in Cheltenham, focused on regional collaboration, cyber education, and innovative engagement tools for young people across the UK. The event brought together educators, university partners, programme leaders, and cyber professionals — all committed to building a stronger, more connected future in cyber education and work experience.

Session 5: Work Experience Programme Showcase

The day kicked off with a showcase of CyberFirst-aligned work experience programmes from across the UK. The first session focused on how we can better connect teacher networks, develop and share regional resources, and maintain student engagement, particularly through recognition and accreditation that aligns with university-level courses.

Key highlights included:

• South West – Ignite Programme & Bootcamp: Empowering students with practical skills through immersive workshops.
• Northern Ireland – Cyber Bytes: A promising work experience pilot giving students hands-on exposure to the cyber industry.
• North East – CyberFirst Horizons Summer Programme: A comprehensive four-week journey including skills development, emotional intelligence training, stereotype-busting with HR professionals, and real-world site visits with cyber pros.

These initiatives exemplify how tailored, regional programmes can have national impact when it comes to nurturing cyber talent.

Session 6: University Partnerships in CyberFirst

Led by David C and Myles Dempsey from Sheffield Hallam University, this session explored how universities can actively support CyberFirst schools and colleges. The conversation covered how academic institutions can:

• Align with CyberFirst learning pathways,
• Offer credibility through accreditation, and
• Bridge the gap between secondary education and the cyber workforce pipeline.

Lunch & Networking

A welcome break to digest (literally and figuratively!) the morning sessions and connect with other attendees.

Session 7: Demos, Content Sharing & Regional Creativity

This was perhaps the most energetic session of the day — a dynamic showcase of interactive, gamified, and creative resources being used across the country to teach cyber skills in new and exciting ways.

Some standout examples include:

• North East/Yorkshire & Humber – Digitised Enigma Challenge: A localised cyber escape room inspired by regional threats, soon to be available virtually.
• Cyber Heist Briefcase: A physical escape room-in-a-box used by Cyber Ambassadors to engage local schools — includes phishing email challenges and password education, with versions tailored for different age groups.
• Scotland – Don’t Lose Your Head: A historical twist! This activity explores Mary Queen of Scots’ encrypted messages, embedding cyber learning in literature and history.
• Scotland – Cyber Comics: Merging English literature with cyber safety education, especially effective in diverse socio-economic communities.
• Scotland – Cyber Defenders Course: An introductory video-based programme launching for free this September on Skills Build via CyberFirst.
• Wales – Forensics Bags: A hands-on mystery involving a stolen chocolate bar, encouraging students to solve challenges with encryption and code-breaking — a sweet case study, quite literally.
• Lancaster University – HexVenture Board Game: Developed and presented by our very own Chris Lowerson and the LU team, HexVenture is a research-backed entrepreneurship board game set in a cyber context. It’s already flying off the shelves and was in high demand!
• Reflecting on the day, Chris said: “It was a great experience to attend the CyberFirst Regional Knowledge Share event as it provided an excellent opportunity to connect with many dedicated and knowledgeable professionals in the cyber community. It was really encouraging to witness the level of dedication to advancing cyber education, especially through so many wonderful ideas. Having shared our own idea, HexVenture, it was great validation to see it gaining interest from colleagues who want to explore it further themselves. On a personal note, I'm really excited to see where we can take this unique, research-backed approach to blending teaching cyber and entrepreneurial skills, and what the next steps for diversifying our engagement with this will be.”
• South West – Cyber Top Trumps (UWE): A creative card game where players protect their assets from cyber threats using mitigation strategies.
• Bath University – Cyber Security Board Game: Focused on real-world trade-offs between budgets, threats, and protective measures — perfect for teaching cyber risk management.

Each of these resources showcases how gamification and storytelling are powerful tools to bring cyber security concepts to life for young learners — and beyond.

Bonus: CyberFirst Resource Bags were distributed by region — a great takeaway full of useful materials. IN4 received one for the North West and we’re excited to start using the contents soon!

Final Thoughts

The Cheltenham event was more than just a showcase — it was a testament to what’s possible when regions come together with a common goal: to empower young people and educators with tools, experiences, and pathways into cyber careers. What stood out throughout the day was the shared passion across regions and institutions to collaborate, innovate, and inspire the next generation of cyber professionals. The energy, creativity, and commitment on display were nothing short of infectious, and I look forward to many more opportunities to collaborate with the CyberFirst community and continue driving positive change together.

I was grateful to attend the CyberFirst Regional Knowledge Share event — it provided an excellent opportunity to connect with many dedicated and knowledgeable professionals in the cyber community. The level of engagement and shared commitment to advancing cyber education was particularly encouraging. I’m always pleased to see HexVenture gaining interest as a unique, research-backed approach to teaching entrepreneurial skills within a cyber context. The event reinforced my confidence in the exciting potential ahead for the game.

Related Blogs

• 

  CyberFirst at Lancaster University: Inspiring the Next Generation of Cyber Talent

• 

  CyberFirst Advanced Summer School 2025: A Week of Cyber Discovery at Lancaster University

• 

  Hacking the Mind: Cyber Effects and Information Confrontation – Lecture by Paul Withers

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed by our bloggers and those providing comments are personal, and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of Lancaster University. Responsibility for the accuracy of any of the information contained within blog posts belongs to the blogger.