The CyberFirst Girls Competition which aims to support girls interested in a career in cyber security is now open for registration.
The annual competition is run by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) , a part of GCHQ, and aims to introduce girls aged 12 and 13 to cyber security, with the ultimate goal of increasing diversity in the industry.
Girls in Year 9 in Northern Ireland are encouraged to enter the contest in teams of up to four. A teacher at their school or a school guardian must act as their mentor and register them via the NCSC website.
With women making up just 16% of the UK’s cyber security workforce, a number of female leaders in tech urged the next generation to enter the competition.
Commenting on this, Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, CEO of Stemettes, said: "The gender gap in technology is holding all of us back. In cyber, this gap is important to fill as we need to keep folks safe and secure as technology becomes more important - entering this competition is a brilliant way to ensure you can help us all!"
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Allstate Northern Ireland are the proud sponsors of the CyberFirst Girls Competition Regional Final for the fourth consecutive year.
Speaking about the event, Keith Lippert, Vice President and Deputy Chief Information Security Officer of Allstate, said: “If you’re considering a career in cyber security or you just want to try something new, we would really encourage you to register for this event – it could be your first step towards a rewarding career.”
The competition welcomes everyone from beginners to experts, so entrants don’t need to have any previous knowledge to sign up. The same goes for teachers, who don’t need to have technology experience to put together teams of students.
In their teams the girls tackle fun and challenging puzzles, covering topics from cryptography to AI to logic, in a bid to see off rivals and develop cyber skills. The highest scoring teams will go through to one of 13 finals held across the UK as part of a country-wide celebration of the next generation of cyber talent.
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Special individual and team prizes are also up for grabs and considered eligibility rules aim to rally more schools to register, even if they have little cyber experience.
The qualifying round opens at noon on Monday 21st November and runs until Wednesday 30th November.
The top teams will then compete at finals held simultaneously on Saturday 4th February in 13 locations, with Allstate NI hosting the Northern Ireland regional final.
Since 2017, more than 43,000 girls have taken part in the CyberFirst Girls Competition, with many then going on to take part in other CyberFirst activities. This includes our CyberFirst courses starting at Trailblazers (ages 12-13) and going all the way through to our Advanced course for pre-university aged students.
Source: Written from press release.
