Cheltenham, UK., June 7, 2018, 20 teams of school children from Gloucester took part in the Lockheed Martin ‘Adventures in Cyberland’ workshop during the Cheltenham Science Festival.

Meadowside Primary School’s ‘Team Bot’ pictured, beat the clock to unlock the codes and successfully win the challenge and become virtual cyber agents for the day. The challenges were based around five key categories including, hidden messages, coding, coded messages, problem solving and fact finding.

Despite the growing cyber field, multiple studies indicate a shortage of talent in the area. For years, Lockheed Martin has partnered with organisations to invest in and develop STEM programmes to seed the future workforce.

“This has been a great event that supports our computing curriculum, in which we teach the children the basics of coding and some understanding about how computers work. Events like this build on the things that we can achieve in school when we are teaching coding and gives the children an awareness of possible applications and, maybe even career paths for them in the future.” said Helen Iles, class teacher at Meadowside Primary School in Quedegely, Gloucester. “Children love the idea of a challenge and just by looking at them you can tell that they are thoroughly enjoying their time with you.”

“As a global security company, cyber is a part of everything we do at Lockheed Martin,” said Karen Wade, customer relations manager from Lockheed Martin Cyber Works Centre in Gloucester. “We employ the world’s best cyber minds from diverse fields – people who are passionate about and empowered by our customers’ missions. Providing engaging events like Adventures in Cyberland helps us inspire the next generation and show them what it’s like to learn important skills within the cyber field.”

Lockheed Martin currently operates the Cyber Works Centre in Gloucester. The Centre is a hub for the company to collaborate with the UK government, industry, academia and international partners as we invest in research & development, skills and training.

About Lockheed Martin UK
Lockheed Martin UK, headquartered in London, is the UK-based arm of Lockheed Martin, a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 100,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.