Cyber Innovation Series 2022/23: CyGamBIT
Interactive cybersecurity game CyGamBIT has been designed to engage young people on current and emerging online threats, providing them with all the knowledge they need to stay safe online.
Its academic team has been shortlisted, along with 14 other finalists, to attend this year’s CyberASAP.
Come along to the CyberASAP Demo Day on 22 February to see CyGamBIT present their pitch and demonstrate their Proof of Concept.
About CyGamBIT
There are currently 10.7 million young people aged 10-24 in the UK facing risk online. While 84% of parents say they worry about their child’s online safety, on average they only spend 46 minutes talking to them about it throughout their entire childhood.
The NSPCC stresses that talking regularly with children is the greatest tool to help keep them safe online. So why aren’t parents doing that and how can we support young people to have those conversations?
Almost three-quarters of parents and teachers have never received any guidance or training on supporting young people to manage their online privacy. CyGamBIT is a solution designed to facilitate young people having these complex conversations before issues arise, providing an answer that is proactive, rather than reactive.
The product has been specifically designed to fuse high-quality cyber security and privacy education with a live-service, dynamic game that equips young people for their future in a digital world. The adaptability of the CyGamBIT framework also ensures that the learning is responsive to cyber security threats as they emerge and evolve.
The CyGamBIT team have developed the product by working with young people and parents/guardians, and have aligned the content with the National Cyber Strategy, to cover the primary areas of concern. These include cyber-bullying, self-identity, privacy, security, scams and phishing.
Meet the CyGamBIT Team
The team behind the game are based at Bournemouth University and bring a wealth of expertise on cyber security to the product. This means that, unlike their competitors, every part of the game has been developed by experts in the area.
The team works within the National Centre for Post-Qualifying Social Work and is made up of:
- Emily Rosenorn-Lanng – Research Project Officer and Part-Time PhD candidate at Bournemouth University, with a thesis focus on game-based learning in social work higher education
- Stefan Kleipoedszus – Program Leader and deputy head of department, Stefan specialises in safeguarding children and young people and bring years of experience in practice
- Stevie Corbin-Clarke – Research Assistant at Bournemouth University, participating in research projects within the National Centre for Post-Qualifying Social Work, and qualified Primary School Teacher
The team also includes Davide Melacca, a Game Design Consultant, and Technical Researcher Samuel Ware, who are helping to develop the prototype into a game that works both online and as a board game. They are now looking for further funding to develop a full, not-for-profit platform.
Meet them at our Demo Day
Join us on Wednesday 22 February 2023 and be among the first to preview the team’s innovation, alongside a whole host of exciting cyber products and services from leading UK academic teams. Hear their pitches and learn more about each project in this unique showcase of ready-to-commercialise cyber innovations. Register here.
About CyberASAP
CyberASAP (Cyber Security Academic Startup Accelerator Programme) is the only pre-seed accelerator programme in the cyber ecosystem which provides expertise, knowledge and support to convert academic research into commercial products and services.
CyberASAP is funded by the UK Government Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK and Innovate UK KTN.