Grok Academy is an edtech not-for-profit that empowers Australian students with the technology skills they need to thrive in the digital economy. It’s collaborating with industry experts to create a more cyber-savvy generation of young Australians.
Grok Academy (Grok) understands that teachers are time-poor and overworked. Grok supports them with its free online e-learning platform, classroom-ready resources and professional development programs, so they can deliver the Digital Technologies Curriculum with confidence and ease to every student in Australia.
Grok’s curriculum authors, technologists and educators are not only passionate about digital literacy, but they are also committed to solving Australia’s IT skills shortage together with industry and government.
One of the areas in technology dealing with an ongoing skills crisis is cyber security, which industry experts believe is facing a severe shortage of job-ready cyber security professionals.
According to AustCyber, the workforce needs to grow by 66 per cent to reach the 85,000 cyber security employees required by 2030, or 4,800 jobs every year.
Given the ubiquity of cyber attacks in Australia, and the expected increase in sophistication of cyber criminals using AI, Grok believes it is vital that the nation tackles this issue by engaging K-12 students in digital technologies and cyber security education.
Running since 2019, Grok’s Schools Cyber Security Challenges program creates a more cyber-aware generation in Australia. As of October 2023, Grok has had more than 500,000 students enrolled in the Schools Cyber Security Challenges, with more than 7,000 teachers and nearly 4,000 schools participating.
Why start at school?
Instilling cyber security behaviours from an early age can help students identify cyber threats and learn how to mitigate them. In Grok’s Schools Cyber Security Challenges program, students learn about the risks of sharing personal identifiable information (PII), managing these risks, and the importance of protecting and securing this information.
Grok’s resources not only raise awareness of important cyber security concepts, but also teach students to take a proactive and skills-based approach towards managing their data.
Grok aims to develop students’ foundational technical knowledge, skills, and dispositions in cyber security. At the same time, Grok provides teachers with resources and professional learning opportunities to empower them to confidently teach cyber security. Importantly, Grok’s Schools Cyber Security Challenges program provides school students with an awareness of the cyber security sector, hopefully encouraging them to consider lucrative and exciting tech careers in this field.
Industry partners are key to success
Industry collaboration brings real world knowledge and application to Grok’s programs, ensuring they are authentic and relevant to the needs of students.
Grok works with subject matter experts from industry and government to contribute to the development of the content, including ANZ, the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, Amazon Web Services (AWS), BT, Commonwealth Bank, Fifth Domain, National Australia Bank (NAB) and Westpac.
Cyber security professional Angelee Worner is employed in BT’s Security Operations Centre. She is responsible for reviewing cyber security alerts that have been triaged by BT’s Security Operations Centre in Hungary.
“If any alerts need to be escalated, I collaborate with our Threat Analytics Manager to communicate these to our customers, along with recommendations on how to mitigate the threat,” she says.
Having previously worked in the hospitality industry, Ms Worner was attracted to a career in cyber security because of the strong demand for trained people, career growth opportunities, and challenging and rewarding work.
“You are always learning in cyber security. I like to be kept busy and am always looking to push myself and cyber security really fits that.
“I didn’t have a technical background, so I had to study hard to get myself up to speed. But I also found there were a lot of transferable skills such as analytical thinking, time management, attention to detail, collaboration and problem solving – especially looking at things from different angles.
“I am glad that I took the plunge to move into this career. It’s so important to identify something that you think you will genuinely enjoy and thrive in.”
Jess Modini is Executive Advisory Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services (AWS). She says there’s really no such thing as a ‘typical’ week at AWS – and that’s what makes it so exciting.
“One day, I might be collaborating with government agencies on policies and technology reforms to bolster our nation’s critical infrastructure security. The next, I could be architecting cutting-edge solutions to enable threat intelligence sharing between organisations. Last month I led AWS in a NATO’s ‘Locked Shields’ exercise – an intense live-fire cyber wargame testing our ability to defend networks against sophisticated attacks.”
Ms Modini holds Master’s qualifications in Cyber Security Operations, Systems Engineering, Space Operations, Project Management and International Relations (Security), which all coalesce in her role.
“Cyber security is highly complex, and you can’t approach it from only one narrow perspective. Project management and systems design provides the foundations for understanding people, processes and technology. International relations knowledge is crucial for grasping the global political context of cyber threats. And now, with space becoming a new battleground, we need to factor in space operations too. Traditional compartmentalised thinking won’t work anymore,” she says.
“Cyber threats aren’t limited by geography, so strong cyber security is a vital part of our military defence and overall security posture.”
She says a career in cyber security is so broad and multi-dimensional that you learn and grow continuously.
“Cyber security requires a blend of technical skills, analytical thinking, and problem-solving abilities. You are on the front lines defending critical infrastructure, personal data, and financial information from cyber criminals and other malicious actors, so you are directly protecting people and organisations from harm,” she says.
Criminologist Laura Hartley is Head of Security Culture & Advisory, Group Security, at National Australia Bank (NAB) Limited.
“I lead a team that works with NAB’s colleagues, customers and the community to help them learn how to protect themselves online. We explain current cyber security threats and the simple things people can do to better defend themselves,” she says.
Ms Hartley has worked in cyber security at NAB for 11 years.
“NAB offers great opportunities for career development and upskilling, for example: FINSIA’s Career Qualified in Banking program, Distinctive Leadership Program, and cloud training through NAB Cloud Guild.
“To students considering a career in cyber, I would say, go for it! The work can be broad, it can be deep, and there’s always something new to learn and do. And it’s fun.”
As a female executive in a largely male-dominated space, Ms Hartley is passionate about encouraging other women (and all genders) to work in cyber security.
“All cyber and tech teams face gender balance challenges but it’s something we’re actively working on. We work with expert partners to help us reach more female talent. NAB sponsors the Australian Women in Security Network as well as the Australian Women in Security Awards every year to help women explore pathways into the industry and better understand the career opportunities in this space,” she says.
NAB has worked in partnership with Grok Academy for many years, supporting the Schools Cyber Security Challenges program.
“There is a real talent shortage in the cyber security industry, so working with Grok is one of the ways we can help address that. I’m lucky to have been involved with Grok’s Cyber Challenges program since its inception in 2019. By showing young people that working in cyber can be fun, rewarding and challenging, we hope that some of them will help create the cyber workforce of the future.”
