A SCOTS educational platform has launched a new cyber security course with the aim of making the internet safer for youngsters.
The British Youth International College (BYITC) has launched the new programme with intent to spread awareness of the risks of the internet among young people.
The programme hopes to create a community of cyber security experts to keep the future digital world secure.
The BYITC was founded by Dr Rashmi Mantri in 2015, after she noticed gaps in her son’s arithmetic abilities.
An IT trainer and software developer by trade, Rashmi took matters into her own hands and taught her son using an abacus model.
The method was a success, and fellow parents were soon keen for Rashmi to share the abacus method.
Rashmi started an after-school tuition programme – which has since snowballed into a global business, teaching thousands of students across the world.
BYITC is also home to the world’s first online abacus maths learning application, developed to accommodate a growing number of students joining Rashmi’s virtual classroom.
Rashmi said: “Many great and successful businesses start with someone creating a product out of passion to fill a gap in society.
“The pandemic made all learning digital but we filled the gap of a fully functional and interactive Abacus Maths E-Learning Web Application.”
The Cyber Security programme is the school’s most recent venture, launched in May 2022.
The course aims to equip young people with life skills that will not only keep them safe online, but also provide a significant boost on their CV.
Rashmi believes the need for Cyber Security specialists will only grow in coming years.
She said: “Nowadays, everything is digital. Especially after the pandemic, everything is online – we cannot avoid it.
“And more digitalisation means more cyber threats. People should know how they can be safe online.”
Aimed at 12 to 18-year-olds, the programme offers both a 20-topic foundation course for beginners and a 40-topic advanced course.
Students work in small groups, with bi-weekly lessons on subjects such as Malware, ethical hacking, coding languages, and mobile security.
She added: “I want to make British Youth International College the most trusted brand in the education sector.
“A brand parents recognise, know they can trust, and give their children a future in our hands.”
