Now in its seventh year, CyberFest is the North East’s biggest cyber security festival that invites the cyber business community to come together to connect, collaborate, debate and to explore the sector through an action-packed schedule of events throughout October.
CyberFest 2024 brings together businesses, academics, universities, students, thought leaders, innovators, and cyber enthusiasts. The month will feature speaker events, panel debates, networking opportunities and practical workshops, with the CyberNorth CyberFest Community Conference taking place on Wednesday 16th October 2024 and the CyberNorth Awards on Wednesday 23rd October 2024.
The CyberNorth CyberFest Community Conference will take place on Wednesday 16th October 2024 at the Common Room, Newcastle. The pivotal conference will take a deep dive into the latest initiatives, industry developments and technological innovations. From Net Zero, gender diversity, fostering an inclusive culture, addressing the “experience gap” in cyber security and creating a culture of innovation.
The theme for the CyberNorth CyberFest Conference this year is Looking Up, Looking Out, and as part of this theme organisers will be looking beyond the region’s borders and inviting speakers and attendees from around the UK and the globe to connect and collaborate with the cyber security scene in the North East.
New to the October agenda for 2024 is the launch of the CyberNorth Awards which will be held on Wednesday 23rd October 2024 atTyne Bank Brewery, Newcastle. The awards are designed to showcase and celebrate the achievements of individuals and organisations across the cyber security sector in the North East. Nominations closed on Friday 27th September 2024, and categories include the Innovation Award, Rising Star, Business or Team of the Year and Community Champion.
The full outline programme for CyberFest 2024 is now live and through the collaborative approach to events across the region the festival will shine a spotlight on the opportunities in the sector, highlighting the breadth of cyber security talent across the region, whilst providing a space to share new ways of thinking.
Kicking off the festival on Wednesday 2nd October is the Annual Schools Debate supported by the North East Institute on Business Ethics and Gateshead College, which will see students debate if smartphones and social media should be banned for under 16s. Hosted by Atom Bank, CyberCogs (Tuesday 8th October) will focus on Supply Chain Risk Mitigation from a Security Perspective, providing an opportunity for senior leaders in the cyber security sector to discuss the industry’s most pressing challenges and to work together through sharing their own knowledge.
The North East STEM Hub, in partnership with the Foundation of Light will deliver #STEMFest 2024 (8th – 10thOctober) at The Beacon of Light, Sunderland with a focus on their STEM zones, looking at the growth sectors in the region including space, technology, e-sports/sports, energy and manufacturing.
Tuspark, Newcastle will host ‘Collaborating with the public and private sectors’ on Monday 14th October to enable organisations to understand the needs of the region’s public sector and how procurement of cyber services works.
BJSS will host the Women in Tech meet up for CyberFest on Tuesday 15th October, with fireside-style chats with two inspirational women doing fantastic work in their respective areas of Cyber Security. Dr Meera Sarma, CEO, Cystel and Nicola Japp, Security Delivery Manager, Accenture will be talking about their lives and activities in the sector.
Sunderland City Hall will host Smarter Cities, Safer Places on Wednesday 23rd October and attendees are invited to join Digital Safety CIC to discuss the latest opportunities in smart cities. The event will include a look into how Sunderland has created a Smart City with speaker Liz St Louis, Director of Smart Cities and Enabling Services at Sunderland City Council.
The UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration will host the UKC3 Pan Cluster event at Hoults Yard, Newcastle on Thursday 24th October, bringing together all the cyber clusters from around the UK together to showcase activities and initiatives.
Danielle Phillips, Director and Cluster Lead at CyberNorth said: “We are delighted to release the full schedule for CyberFest 2024. Year on year the festival builds in traction and the array of fringe events announced for 2024 across the region are phenomenal.
“As ever our ethos is a commitment to bringing together the cyber security community, the aim of CyberFest remains to raise awareness of cyber security activities across the region as part of the mission ‘To Make the North East a Centre of Excellence for Cyber Security.’ Collaboration is key and we look forward to hearing all the insights and outputs from the fringe events, the CyberNorth CyberFest Community Conference and the CyberNorth Awards.”
Since inception, CyberNorth has facilitated the development of the cyber security community and raised local, national and international awareness of opportunities and capacity in the North East. The CyberNorth Membership community is made up of around 1000 members from the cyber security landscape. CyberNorth works closely with other sector clusters across the region including FinTech, Space, HealthTech, Advanced Manufacturing and Renewables.
CyberFest 2024 tickets are now live: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cybernorth-conference-and-awards-2024-tickets-929593498177?aff=oddtdtcreator
Full events schedule: https://cybernorth.biz/cyberfest/
