Cyber Security, Coding and IT companies visit to help students upskill

Enterprise Week kicked-off on 6th November, with Walsall College running a series of workshops around cyber security, coding and IT security.

The workshops, which took place at the college, were delivered by representatives from large computing companies.

The week opened with a Cyber Security session on Monday morning from 9am. Delivered by an IBM Resilient Cyber Security representative, David Kanis-Buck, the workshop was attended by over 100 Computing students and those on the Access to Higher Education course.

IMB Resilient is a cyber-security provider that provides malware protection packages to organisations to help them prepare for and respond to security incidents.

David also introduced students to a range of courses that they can study to enter graduate placements and higher paid jobs in Cyber Security industry.

The cyber security workshop was followed by another session on coding, delivered by Tim Wilson from Code Club. With more than 10,000 clubs in over 100 countries, Code Club is a nationwide network of volunteers and educators who run free coding classes for young people aged 9-13.

Software students were invited to attend, as it was a chance for them to further their coding and mentoring skills. Tim offered work experience opportunities to the students, and a large number expressed interest in volunteering their time to teach coding through Code Club at the college.

There were two workshops that were delivered by enterprising entrepreneurs, Enable ID’s Andrew Butt and Fiona Hudson-Kelly from Smartapprentices.com. They delivered inspiring talks about start-up opportunities, and offered advice for starting up one’s own business in the technology sector.

Over 100 students attended both session, with many keen to turn their product ideas into prototypes and businesses. EnableID has offered further work experience opportunity to Walsall College’s Computing students.

Based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Enable ID creates technology that shares information in ‘real time’ within products and services. They are currently trialling a sensor they have developed in Chiltern Railway trains, which will indicate – in real time- the location of available seats and the current temperature in each carriage.

Dr Stephen Wright from National Cyber Skills Centre hosted a session on the various ways an organisation’s security can be compromised, how identity theft works and the strategies to deal with internal threats.

Software students had an opportunity to attend TATA’s Digital Explorers Work Experience.

Students attended a three-day workshop, in which they took part in range of activities and inspired from the talks.

Minakshi Katti, Curriculum Manager for Computing and ICT at Walsall College, said: “The College strives to ensure that our students develop the skills they need to enter the profession they wish to enter. One of the ways we do this is by inviting employers to visit our students to deliver talks on the latest updates in their industry, as well as running workshops that build upon the skills they have already developed during their courses.

The Computing Enterprise week events were a huge success, with more students attending than expected. This year, over 100 students attended the first workshop, with similar number attending the workshops that followed. This is a testament to how serious our students are in developing the skills and knowledge they need to enter cyber security, coding, tutoring and IT.”