Very proud of Teereth for her Outstanding Contribution to the Community Award and her work with “Stronger Together” – Herts Inter Faith forum!

Our first Free Fruit Friday for students was a success this morning! Student feedback : “It’s a really nice way to start the day.” “The fruit really makes you feel energised.”

It’s not often you get to see the Deloitte’s Cyber Intelligence Centre (CIC) in Reading, so this was an eagerly anticipated event with all the places being snapped up within an hour!

For CyberEPQ students that wish to attend in future, please join the Alumni group on LinkedIn for early notification!

For those that did get to attend, we were fortunate to speak with Amanda Scantlebury, the Cyber Security Operations Manager and Gijs Reusken, a Consultant, who specialises in the evolving data privacy landscape. It was great to hear how people from a non-technical background (history and law respectively) were able to carve a successful career in cyber. Diversity of knowledge, background, ethnicity, age and gender in the teams allows for greater success and is highly prized by Deloitte. For those looking to join, there are routes for both Graduates and non-Graduates into the CIC team.

Analysts, Cameron and Saj,  explained the hands-on approach that their cyber training provided and how Deloitte invested in them and welcomed an inquisitive mind. Both explained how their broad training in different areas had given them greater insight into cyber and had helped them to develop their cyber passions.

Cornelia Calugar-Pop, Lead Technical Media and Telecommunications Predictions Researcher, gave a fascinating perspective and hints as to what we could expect  from tech in the future including how 5G will allow the greater use of automated robots whilst picking and packing customers’ goods; how videos will be watched interchangeably from landscape to portrait as well as the availability of Video on Demand with the option of an ad free version. E-bikes could also be on the future horizon benefitting cities by greatly reducing traffic and pollution. A win-win.

Then … The  Crypto Challenge… Designed and delivered by Alex Parsons, Senior Manager for Cyber Security for the Life Sciences and Healthcare. He set the scene of a fictitious company client that had been acting suspiciously. Our teams were given half an hour to use codebreaking skills to find out what had really been happening on the client’s open laptop. Each group anxiously searched for clues and broke codes to unlock the encrypted information.

For those of you who were unable to attend, we are planning a future event once exams are safely out of the way. We look forward to seeing you then.  Join the CyberEPQ Alumni Group on LinkedIn so you don’t miss out!

Terrific evening with students @wbtourlondon – contributing to the filming session by @BBCLearning@BBCCareers and finding out about the creatives who made the Harry Potter films. Great behind the scenes insights!

Watford UTC is a founding member of the UTC Cyber Group. As a member of the UTC Cyber Group we deliver a learning pathway that enables students to develop technical skills and employability skills needed in the cyber security industry partners on projects, technical workshops and briefings, Our learning pathway provides students with access to online labs, professional qualifications and crucially, practical experience with employers. Click this link for more details.

Great work from our Photography students – proud and pleased to see their work published as part of the JPM Annual calendar – pride and place on many a desktop in the area!

See the attached images from our Roaring 20’s Jamboree event held earlier this month.

Watford UTC is part of the UTC Cyber group, a collective of 20 cyber UTCs across England, supported and guided by leading organisations in this sector.

Schools within the UTC Cyber group deliver specialist cyber education, either within the curriculum, or as an enrichment activity, and build the capability to deliver a steady pipeline of young students with accelerated technical skills into apprenticeships, degree apprenticeships, and specialist degrees.

About cyber security

The cyber security industry is one of the most exciting, fast-paced, and progressive technological environments in the current economy. It is of critical importance to the safety of our country.

Government and industry are seeking highly-motivated young people to focus on cyber security skills.

What a Cyber UTC does for students

A Cyber UTC offers students the opportunity to develop these skills in a safe environment, whilst connecting with industry professionals and gaining an insight into the industry.

Students…

• can start on a cyber career from the age of 14
• gain access to leading-edge training labs and build a tech-centric CV at a Cyber UTC
• learn from industry professionals so they can also build their professional network, taking part in five technical workshops every year
• understand the many specialisms available within the cyber industry
• develop cyber skills in a safe environment
• have full access to Immersive Labs Digital Cyber Academy, as well as professional vendor qualifications where offered by the cyber UTC

You can find more information on the UTC Cyber Group website www.utccybergroup.uk

We were really pleased to host Watford Mayor, Peter Taylor this morning as he visited our students, staff and robots!

Last month, Watford UTC opened its doors once again for the annual Showcase event. The whole school welcomed their parents, guests from other schools, local businesses, industry partners, new students joining us in September and new applicants.

Our students impressed visitors with interactive displays and activities in the classrooms and work spaces, including; robotics in the VEX arena, naming countries in our Travel Agency, Escape…

…feedback studio in the Mac Suite with Media students, science experiments in the Labs, puzzles and quizzes in Maths…

…Wellbeing demonstrations in the Sports Hall, Modern Foreign Language displays…

… Year 12 Business hosted their Around the World event in Refresh Cafe offering food and drink from various cultures and cuisines, and entertainment including themed quizzes and a raffle…

…Year 10 students showcased their published novel ‘Feud of Fire’ with a set up from their launch event hosted by Waterstones Watford.

The students professionalism and subject knowledge made the event a success for the third year running.