Lancaster University has joined forces with the tech skills and innovation provider IN4 GroupIN4 to help drive tech investment across the North West. The partnership will see the establishment of 24 CyberFirst Gold Hubs, one in each of the North West Local Authority areas, which aim to give every young person access to world-class technology skills and employment.
The Hubs are designed to attract inward investment which will support STEM educational enrichment and develop a technology-embedded curriculum. Education and corporate partners, including IBM, Northrop Grumman, KPMG UK, QinetiQ, and BT, will work together to deliver skills to young people and drive employment through degree apprenticeships and degree courses. The hubs will be established with Cyberfirst Gold recognised Colleges and Sixth Forms.
The announcement follows IN4’s North West contract for CyberFirst, a programme backed by the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of GCHQ, which was established to encourage a diverse range of young people to pursue careers in the cyber sector.
Mo Isap, CEO of In4 Group said: “This pioneering strategic partnership between IN4 Group and Lancaster University is a significant step towards building a thriving pipeline of tech talent that will help shape the future of the North West Cyber Corridor.”
The Lancaster University partnership will support the creation of cyber jobs in the region and upskill adults, to further cement Lancashire’s position at the heart of the North West Cyber Corridor. This will be through the CyberFirst programme’s activities and the upskilling of adult learners through IN4 Group’s Skills City division, which is one of the UK’s largest digital Skills Bootcamps operations.
Professor Andy Schofield, Vice Chancellor at Lancaster University, said: “Through this partnership, we aim to share our expertise in all aspects of cyber research, teaching and training with our communities and work to promote the cyber sector as a career choice to a range of people who may not have considered it.”
Lancaster University is one of only a handful of universities in the UK whose education, research and training is recognised by the National Cyber Security Centre. The University is further building on its strong track record in cyber security with a recently announced £19m investment into Security and Protection Science – an initiative that is in the process of recruiting 33 new cross-disciplinary academics, 15 professors in practice and 10 support staff.
This collaboration builds on the previous success of the CyberFirst North West programme, which achieved £1.57 million of social impact in 2023, establishing 13 local schools and colleges from Lancashire and Greater Manchester as among the best in the UK for cyber and STEM education.
