From festival and events management through to the creative industries and cyber, Edinburgh Napier University has a global reputation for our wide range of expertise and our ability to collaborate with partners to apply and share our skills to make a difference in the modern world.  

Problem:

The Cheltenham Science Festival was looking for innovative new ways to engage wider audiences in to cyber security, with a particular focus on being more inclusive and diverse to try and attract and inspire new generations of cyber security professionals. 

Solution:

Edinburgh Napier’s Festival & Event Management Professor, Prof Gary Kerr, joined the festival as a curator to share his creativity and curatorial expertise in developing a new interactive cyber security themed drop-in zone, called ‘The Arcade’.

The Arcade at the Cheltenham Science Festival 

The Cheltenham Science Festival wanted to enhance their public engagement space themed around cyber security, with a goal of trying to make the cyber industry more accessible and open to a wider range of people, from all backgrounds and abilities.

To achieve this, Edinburgh Napier’s Professor Kerr worked with the Festival, along with industry and academic partners, to co-create ‘The Arcade’. Basing the concept upon a seaside arcade, The Arcade allowed people to undertake a series of fun and engaging activities, many of which were focused on the softer skills needed in cyber security. The Arcade featured retro arcade games and pinball machines to highlight past technologies, as well as showcased new cyber and computing technologies, exploring how they will shape our culture in the future.

Challenging people’s perceptions of the cyber world 

The Arcade demonstrated that you don't necessarily have to be a computing scientist or to be a technical expert to have a place in the cyber security sector. It showed the human side of the cyber world and central to the theme was empowering people to want to join the world of cyber and shape its future, whilst feeling included and valued in the cyber space.

People from a variety of backgrounds, including neurodiverse and disabled young people, were able to participate and engage in The Arcade, communicating using assistive technologies, all in the context of cyber security and STEM.