NCSC Annual Review 2021
Page 38 of 44
Introducing young people to cyber
The NCSC continued to harness the best talent in the UK through several schemes, including CyberFirst. The programme, now in its fourth year, it has introduced over 56,000 11- to 17-year-olds to the world of tech and cyber security. It covers a broad range of activities, including a girls only competition, summer courses and placements, a university bursary and degree apprenticeship scheme, and its new CyberFirst Schools and Colleges initiative.
This year, more than 6,500 girls from 600 schools entered the CyberFirst Girls Competition, which was set up to help address gender diversity in the sector, and since its inception 43,000 pupils have taken part. In April’s final a team of Year 8 girls from Highgate School in London was crowned UK cyber security champions. NCSC CEO Lindy Cameron praised the team, called the Algorithm Alphas, for their innovation and skills in tackling the challenges of cryptography, logic and networking.
As part of the CyberFirst Schools & Colleges scheme, 27 schools and colleges were recognised by the NCSC for their commitment to cyber security education. The initiative is a collaboration with schools, businesses and organisations which aim to encourage young people into tech or computer science. Of the 27 schools, based across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, nine were given the gold award, 14 received silver status, and four got bronze. The institutions offer students a variety of engaging activities such as lunchtime coding clubs and sessions where pupils could pitch Internet of Things concepts. In February the NCSC announced it was extending the scheme to other regions in England.
This year, 1,736 pupils aged 14 to 17 took part in Summer Courses across 1,269 schools. The students, who could attend in person or virtually, got the chance to examine topics including digital forensics, ethical hacking and cryptography. The virtual element this year saw more teenagers taking place and more diversity within the intake, with record numbers of applications from girls (37%) and ethnic minorities (45%).
The bursary scheme, which offers undergraduates £4,000 per year financial assistance and paid cyber security training each summer to help kick-start their career, was offered to 183 students this year, including 23% who were from ethnic minority backgrounds. In total the scheme has benefitted 913 bursary students, with 92% of graduates now in cyber security roles. 350 of those took summer placements this year at organisations like BT and IBM.
Higher Education
Building on the NCSC’s long-running Certified Degree initiative, 12 UK universities were recognised as Academic Centres of Excellence in Cyber Security Education (ACE-CSE) at either gold or silver level. The universities had already demonstrated their credentials in delivering excellent specialist cyber security education and were also able to show evidence of a broader commitment to improving cyber security awareness and education across their campuses and in their local communities, through a coherent and achievable strategy for development and collaboration.
The year saw an increase in the range and geographical spread of universities offering an NCSC-certified degree at either undergraduate or postgraduate level. The number of NCSC- certified degrees at both levels increased by 44% meaning that, at postgraduate level, more than a third of UK universities offering a master’s degree in Cyber Security now offer at least one NCSC-certified course. An increasing number of universities offering a certified degree are located in under-represented geographical areas and are reaching increasingly diverse communities.
This year the NCSC certified two integrated Degree Apprenticeships schemes for the first time. Offering the opportunity to learn while working, the degree apprenticeships offer a choice for many students not wishing to pursue a degree by the traditional route. Edinburgh Napier University and the University of the West of England working in partnership with Gloucestershire College, became the first UK institutions to gain provisional certification for their courses.
The NCSC’s own Degree Level Apprenticeship scheme is a three-year programme where apprentices – who receive a starting salary of £22k and gain a degree - are exposed to advanced technologies along with practical insights into the innovative ways the NCSC leads cyber security for the UK. This year there were 33 new apprentices in the 2020 cohort, while 56 graduated into roles within the NCSC and parent organisation.
CyBOK
The record number of successful applications for degree certification was partly attributed to the NCSC requiring all new applicants to use the Cyber Security Body of Knowledge (CyBOK) to map their curriculum content. Using the CyBOK has given applicants more flexibility to design their courses to meet employer and student needs, while giving assurance to the NCSC that the course content is appropriate and within the realms of cyber security. The expansion of the CyBOK to 21 Knowledge Areas, with the addition of ‘Formal Methods for Security’ and ‘Applied Cryptography’ has further broadened the definition of what is in scope in cyber security teaching.