229 female students from across Manchester United Foundation’s partner secondary school network descended on M16 to attend a special MEGA Hub cyber event at Hotel Football – across the road from Old Trafford – hosted alongside local technology group IN4, who empower communities through digital skills and education.

The event brought together a host of industry leaders, including GCHQ, BT, Adobe and the Foundation’s own presenting partner, DXC Technology. All the organisations delivered an activity , enabling participants to gain knowledge and insight into the kind of careers that could be available to them in the cyber and technology space.

All the youngsters who attended had expressed an interest in this rapidly developing sector, and the event presented the opportunity to learn about everything from military intelligence, to building and designing small robots, experiencing virtual reality and even controlling a drone.

Chloe, a participant from our partner Buile Hill Academy in Salford, spoke to us about how much she had enjoyed the drone activity, and also the fun she’d had trying out some of the Manchester United Girls Academy players’ reaction-training lights, and an interactive rebounder which helps users hone their passing skills.

“It’s been so, so cool!” Chloe enthused. “You had to fly the drone through a hoop and take on another team who were trying to do the same. I’ve never used one before, and they were quite hard to control, but I managed to score some goals and our team definitely won!

“I got so into the reaction machine, too!” she laughed. “You get really competitive trying to be as quick as you can to touch the lights. It’s been amazing to see all this new technology.”

Through working with IN4, the Foundation aims to encourage as many young girls as possible to learn about a traditionally male-dominated industry which continues growing by the year. It’s important for us that the next generation of technology leaders include a strong female voice.

“Education is all about presenting opportunities to our young people that will help them become more informed and knowledgeable about a subject, but also to help them use that knowledge to grow to become better contributing adults in their communities,” John Shiels, CEO of Manchester United Foundation, said.

“The girls had an amazing experience that might just open their eyes to the opportunities in technology and raise aspirations to pursue a career in the industry.”

“Today’s event enabled our girls to have the chance to gain a really deep insight into cyber and tech careers that could be out there for them,” Niccola Massey, the Foundation’s student life skills manager, added.

“I want to thank IN4 for bringing a host of industry leaders together, for inspiring the girls and giving them the opportunity to be hands on with so many different cyber-related activities.”