The school held its first Cyberday on Wednesday 21st June, exploring sustainable IT, cybersecurity, and careers. Year 9 were treated to a carousel of workshops and talks from Bring-IT-On, W5 Life, and Cyberfirst through the Belfast Metropolitan College.
The Bring-IT-ON team discussed the key skills that companies look for in their employees and that are vital for career in IT. They explored the different pathways that are now available to students at each key stage, including apprenticeship degrees vs traditional qualifications. Our students worked in teams to solve a series of logic and reasoning tasks, before brainstorming ideas for an innovative app.
W5 toured the boys’ through RBAI’s winning entry in the Minecraft Sustaina-BUILD-ity world.
The boys were then given a coding lesson, learning how to automate a variety of tasks in Minecraft. The boys learnt how to develop their programming skills in a shared world.
Belfast Met developed the students’ knowledge within the world of Cybersecurity, looking at what makes a good password and how easily social engineering can be used to bypass security systems. There was also a hands-on demo using a fake hotspot, highlighting the dangers of SSIDs in public areas.
Overall Year 9 had a great experience seeing the range of opportunities within the Northern Ireland IT sector, showing its strengths for the future and how accessible IT can be as a career.