Sixth Form students at two schools in Surrey experienced a behind-the-scenes tour and masterclass during the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth last week.
This initiative is supported by the DP World Tour and Fortinet, its Official Cybersecurity Partner, to provide careers advice in sport and cyber security.
Students from Collingwood College and Charters School participated in workshops on September 14 and 15 called “Golf Futures: Securing your Digital Future” that covered an introduction to cyber security and the role Fortinet plays in protecting the DP World Tour from cyber-attack. The students also took part in ‘The Cybersecurity Golf Challenge‘ to test their skills in a real-world scenario. In addition, six interns currently working at Fortinet were present and spoke to the students about their own experience in education and the workplace.
These activities are part of the Fortinet Training Institute’s Security Awareness and Training service, which earlier this year launched a new curriculum developed in partnership with educators and designed specifically for students from kindergarten through secondary school.
It was also part of the DP World Tour’s new Golf Futures programme, which is giving local school students around the globe opportunities to learn more about careers in live sport and entertainment. This is one core pillar of the Tour’s wider Golf for Good initiative, which is driving golf further in an environmentally and socially sustainable way, by ensuring the Tour has a positive long-term impact on the courses, countries and the communities visited each season.
Speaking about the programme, Paul Anderson, UK&I Country Manager & Regional VP Sales, Fortinet, said: “Joining forces with the DP World Tour’s Golf Futures programme will contribute to achieve Fortinet’s pledge to train one million people in cybersecurity by 2026. As part of this pledge, Fortinet announced in March 2023 a Security Awareness and Training Service available for free to schools across the U.K. This service is helping thousands of educational staff to have a fundamental understanding of cyber threats, allowing them to better safeguard the data of schools, staff, and students.”
Fran Merrylees, Chief People Officer at the DP World Tour, added: “A modern professional golf tournament has technology at its core. To get fans the best experience possible, a wide range of technology is used and thousands of mobile devices are connecting to Wi-Fi at the course. A strong cybersecurity infrastructure is therefore essential.
“This week we had an opportunity, with our close partner Fortinet, to give local students an inside look at what a career that blends cybersecurity and top-level sport might look like. The reaction has been fantastic, and we will continue to give students these unique experiences to open their eyes to the fascinating and varied careers that are available in golf.”