Emilia

About me:

My name is Emilia Edwards a level 6 technical degree apprentice. I first became interested in Cyber from a young age mainly stemming from a love of computer games and decided to continue this passion throughout my time in academia. I undertook my work experience at a small cyber security firm when I was 14 which ignited my passion even more and allowed me to go and speak at various cyber events about my experience. This catapulted me into the wonderful and at the time mysterious world of cyber where I questioned every industry professional I could on their advice on how to stay in it. Understandably many didn’t seem to know how to respond and gave the generic answer of ‘keep doing what you’re doing and worry about it when you are older,’ whilst others told me their personal story of how they got to their current position. I continued this for a few years at various events eventually gathering my own little mental knowledge bank I still use to this day. These events taught me more about the industry and employability than anything else could and eventually helped me get my apprenticeship and I honestly don’t know where I would be if I hadn’t plucked up the courage to go.

My past experiences, from being involved in the industry from a young age and watching schemes such as Cyberfirst schools grow, have helped me see the gaps between students and businesses within it. When it came time to leave school I knew university wasn’t what I wanted and I was very lucky I had made the necessary contacts over the years to be able to start my journey on my desired path however some of my other peers did not have this privilege. These gaps need to be filled as so many young people miss out on opportunities due to faults in the industry and a lack of communication between industry, students and schools something which needs to change. As of current students, businesses and schools all operate separately creating misinformation and a lack of understanding about the reality of cyber. Project pioneers want to help change this and have them working cohesively to create a more inclusive Cyber industry.

To Project Pioneers I aim to bring creativity, many many ideas although sometimes unachievable and knowledge gained from previous experiences to make a lasting impact on cyber and make it a comprehensive industry to be involved with.”