Cheltenham's cyber community welcomes CyberNorth on trade mission

CyNam, the cyber security membership cluster for Cheltenham and Gloucestershire will welcome members of fellow cyber security cluster CyberNorth, which covers the North East England later this month.

A select number of businesses from the North East of England will join CyberNorth in a trade mission to Cheltenham. 

The visit to Cheltenham is an exciting moment for cyber businesses to showcase their innovation, talent and drive to the South West region and vice versa. 

As home to GCHQ, the UK’s intelligence, security and cyber agency, Cheltenham presents the businesses with a unique opportunity to be at the eco-centre of the UK’s cyber innovations. 

CyNam, alongside CyberNorth will host delegates for the Trade Mission which will facilitate the growth of North East businesses through introductions to national contacts including insights from GCHQ, a deep-dive into the Gloucestershire tech ecosystem, Hub8, Minster Exchange and Golden Valley, alongside industry meetings and networking, with the mission concluding at  CyNam’s Headline event 24.2, which they are partly delivering in partnership with the poignant Cheltenham Science Festival.

CyNam's headline event, 24.2 - Guardians of the Galaxy: Delivering a Cyber Secure Space is powered by Barclays Eagle Labs, Space West and Crowe UK, and will take a dive deep into the critical intersection of space and cyber security, with a particular focus on the UK's role in safeguarding its space infrastructure, Renowned Astronaut Tim Peake, space ecosystems manager Anuradha Damale-Day, and the UK Space Agency's Anu Ojha will also join delegates for a  panel discussion, which will focus on the future of space.

The CyberNorth Membership community is made up of around 1,000 members from the cyber security landscape. 

Danielle Phillips, Director and Cluster Lead at CyberNorth said: “To lead this Trade Mission to Cheltenham is a key moment for CyberNorth in forging forward with our strategy to facilitate and foster an environment of collaboration and connections amongst our membership community in the North East. The learning opportunities and insights from world-renowned GCHQ will be invaluable. We are committed to enabling our members to hold an even stronger footing in the industry to support further innovation and growth, and opportunities like this are such a great catalyst.

Cyber threats continue to evolve and accelerate at high speed, and collectively we can learn from and collaborate together to help shape the landscape. A holistic approach is vital, and this is the first of many national and international trade missions that we will be facilitating.”, enabling our members to hold an even stronger footing in the industry to support further innovation and growth.”

CyNam has evolved into a vibrant community with more than 5,000 members. Its mission to drive the growth of the cyber and technology ecosystem in Cheltenham and Gloucestershire. CyNam is a catalyst for ecosystem development, innovation & investment and skills growth to establish Cheltenham as the cyber technology hub of the UK.

Hollie Wakefield, General manager of CyNam, said:“CyNam believes Cluster collaboration is so important to the growth of the sector across the region. We are excited to host delegates for the Trade Mission from CyberNorth’s community to fuel innovation and strengthen our collective capabilities. We have an agenda packed full of networking and business opportunities, as well as giving the delegation the opportunity to attend a CyNam headline event, where by the delegates will gain valuable experience.”

In addition to their strong regional presence, CyberNorth and CyNam are both also part of UKC3, the UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration. Together they are on a mission to facilitate and level up the divide across the north through the Northern Cyber Clusters Collaboration project, which aims to better understand cyber security assets and key cyber security players in the northern regions, and to develop ways for them to work together to increase visibility and to elevate growth and opportunities in the sector. 

Danielle added: “The trade mission provides a real opportunity to fuel cluster collaboration and open dialogue across the cyber community on a national level and we are very excited to see this come to fruition in collaboration with CyNam, a leading force in the cyber landscape.”