What a year…
As we round off 2022, we have taken some time out to reflect on all the amazing achievements we have made. This year has been our most successful yet, and we have grown both our team and our community massively. Our internal team grew from 3 to 5 welcoming CyNam’s first Skills and Growth Lead, and Marketing Apprentice. We have worked with over 150 industries and around 4000 students over the year, developing and deepening connections within the community.
Here’s to 2023 and all the exciting opportunities it holds. We hope you have a happy and healthy Christmas and a wonderful New Year.
Madeline Howard- Chairperson at CyNam:
“Being the Chairperson of CyNam is a huge privilege, but being able to work alongside such a wonderful high performing team, well that is the real privilege. CyNam has achieved a lot in the last year as we’ve edged out of the pandemic and back to normality. It’s hard to pick one moment that I’m the most proud of. Each CyNam team member has given me multiple hairs standing up proud moments. I’d have to say it’s the stuff you don’t see that I’m most proud of. It’s the grit, the determination to do the right thing, and the passion to engage a community, drive growth and inspire a new generation that I’m most proud of. The CyNam team really is built of superhumans. I don’t think anyone in the industry will really fully appreciate how much the team cares about them, their organisations and the local ecosystem.”
Richard Yorke- Managing Director at CyNam:
It has been an honour to be CyNam’s managing director for another year! This year has been full of so many highlights, including Cyber Horizons and Empower events plus numerous Cyber days in schools across the county reaching upwards of 4,000 students. I’m very proud that Gloucestershire continues to lead the way in terms of the number of Cyber First Schools and thanks to the great work of the CyNam team we have more schools lined up to become recognised next year.
We’ve also seen a significant increase in the number of cyber apprentices and young adults studying cyber and computing degrees at the regional Universities which is a good measure of our impact of work… to inspire the next generation.
Another highlight was hosting a range of events over the year hitting key components of our ecosystem. We secured UKC3 funding to enable engagement with the Agri-Tech and Food production sector. The project is in progress and we are building a good understanding of how the opportunities for the cyber ecosystem to protect this critical sector.
CyNam 22.1 at Pittville Pump Rooms was another highlight. Over 350 people attended including visitors from Canada and the Cheltenham Culture Board. There were some fantastic talks, including a super keynote from Priya Guha discussing ‘Why ecosystems matter’. But it was the young, next generation talent that stole the show with their Apprenticeship panel.
I also connected CyNam with UKC3 and under my tenure as Chair, because of this it has seen formal recognition of 13 cyber clusters covering most parts of the UK.
The List could go on, but without the support of everyone that is part of CyNam none of this would be possible, so a massive thank you to my team and I look forward to see what 2023 has in store for us!”
Charlotte Smith – Enterprise Co-ordinator:
“What a year! Where do I start…
Lets kick it off with the number of school students we have engaged with from March 2022 as a result of Covid. Approximately a whopping 4000**,** with ages ranging from different age groups from 11- 20 years until December 2022. We also have 20 Stem Cyber Ambassadors that have completed induction and DBS or awaiting the finalise the process covering the South West with more being attracted as we build our relationships with CWS and the Careers Hubs in the South West.
At present we have 8 Cyber First Gold Schools/Colleges in Gloucestershire out of a total of 17 in the UK, 6 Silver out of 28, and 2 Bronze out of 11. But we have not only been working in Gloucestershire… but we are now spreading into the wider South West region where we work with Techspark and Graphic Science. We have then added, 5 Bronze schools dotted throughout Cornwall, Wiltshire, Devon and Bristol and then another 6 Silver to the Cyberfirst Contract!
We also can’t forget about the 15 non- Cyber First schools we have engaged with, where we have started serious conversations and hope that more can be achieved. In the wider south west I would suggest the number of serious conversations is also about the same!
Let’s walk the walk and change lives. Here’s to 2023!”
Daisy North- Marketing Executive Apprentice:
I joined CyNam in August 2022 as their first apprentice, and my first job in the industry. And what an amazing experience it has been so far! I have been exposed to so many opportunities and met so many new people! So far I have attended 6 events we have hosted and been involved with all marketing around them. I have been pushed to achieve the best of my ability and made to feel very valued within the team. I feel very blessed to say I am a part of such an amazing organisation and I look forward to see what next year has in store for CyNam and be involved with all the excitement from the start. Roll on 2023, well done to the whole team, you should all be proud!
Eleanor Hardman- Ecosystem Engagement and Events Lead:
“2022 you have been amazing! 2022 has been the biggest year for CyNam in terms of event delivery and ecosystem engagement activities. We have levelled up how we bring our community together and we look forward to hosting bigger and better things in 2023. In total, we have delivered 24 events this year which all fall into our three pillar criteria which are as followed: Cyber Tech ecosystem development- 8, Cyber innovation and growth- 7, and Cyber skills and growth- 9
My event highlights of events are as followed:
International Women’s Day:
To help spread the word and capture the spirit of International Women’s Day, we teamed up with Savient, Bamboo Technology, and Hub8 to help celebrate the incredible female talent in the cyber tech industry in Gloucestershire. We went live with a campaign on social media asking for inspirational women nominations, and then we invited them to a celebratory event! It was so heartwarming to see so many incredible women in the same room, reflecting on their endless successes.
CyNam 22.2 – Web3: Worldwide Wellbeing or Worldwide Weapon?
Our June headline event saw us partner with the Cheltenham Festivals team to bring our community an evening of arcade fun and thought provoking conversation about all things web3, blockchain and decentralisation. It was amazing to be part of the Science Festival agenda.
Personally… I have 2 standout highlights. Becoming a mentor to an Apprentice from the Hub8 team, and becoming a mentor and Line-Manager to our own legendary Daisy North.
Clare Bourne – Head of Delivery, Innovation & Growth at CyNam :
“It’s been a year of exploration both internally as an organisation and externally as a community. It’s been great to get back into our stride post-pandemic engaging the next generation of cyber professionals with our work experience programme and also the return of the Empower event”
Other highlights of the year include venturing into new areas such as agritech, and taking CyberFirst deeper into the South West, as well building the foundations for an investment community here in Gloucestershire”
Bruce- Director at CyNam:
“My highlight of the year has to be EmPower Cyber! The glitter, the pink, the music, the dancing, the surprise, the energy, the noise. It’s an event that is trailblazing cyber to be more diverse, more inclusive, and more progressive.”
Reid Derby- Strategic Director at CyNam:
“We kicked off 2022 by hosting Amy MacBeath right at the start of the year. She was with us as a volunteer to help us write our strategy. Amy has an MBA from Harvard Business School, a Masters student in cybersecurity at Oxford and a management consultant at McKinsey at the time of volunteering. As a result of Amy’s help we were able to produce a high quality strategy for CyNam and give Amy valuable experience of the community.” Find out more about Amy here LINK
Chris Dunning-Walton- Director at CyNam:
“What a year! So many highlights and fantastic achievements across 2022 for CyNam. Stand-out moments included the epic jazz band in Pittville Pump Rooms after a phenomenal Cynam 22.1 in collaboration with IBM with 400 attendees. Another highlight was the start of our investor events and seeing us successfully build momentum in the space. And of course, the rockstar effort with EmPowerCyber to round off the year. It is humbling to see such an impact within the community being achieved by a small, but incredibly dedicated and talented team who are unified by a vision and purpose to see Cheltenham and the surrounding regions reach their potential as the capital for cyber security innovation in the UK. Here is to making 2023 an even more exciting year for everyone involved after a well earned break!”
The biggest highlight for the team:
On the 25th November EmPowerCyber 2022 was a real tear-jerker! We had the absolute privilege of delivering not only one event in our home turf but also working with our friends at CyberNorth to deliver the second event in Newcastle. A prime example of sharing best practices! Both events captured the imaginations of 1,300 Y8 girls and showcased the possibilities that a career in cyber security and technology can offer you. There was glitter, music, drones, and a huge amount of fun in the room! We’re constantly trying to change how the cyber security industry is perceived and we’re sure EmPowerCyber did this in bucket loads! We had the absolute privilege of working alongside nearly 40 organisations, universities, and government departments to excite and inspire the girls…..dare I say see you next year?
Check out the highlights from the day:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezxV82GrAoo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vekXpkS4Xxw
We want to take this opportunity to thank our community, supporters, sponsors and partners again for your ongoing support. We can’t wait to bring you bigger and better things in 2023 and continue to make a positive impact within our community.