Published Friday 17 January 2025 at 11:42
Students in Blackburn with Darwen are set to be the first in the whole country to benefit from a pioneering new scholarship scheme in cyber and e-sports.
Blackburn with Darwen Council has partnered with the IN4 Group to roll-out the first-of-its-kind ‘MEGA Scholarships’ to college and sixth form students from right across the borough.
The prestigious scholarships aim to build on the already successful MEGA Hub educational programme – with students from every secondary school across the two towns having the opportunity to be at the forefront of digital skills.
The investment is linked to the Government’s proposed re-location of the National Cyber Force to neighbouring Samlesbury – a move that could create thousands of new jobs in the tech industry and cement the region’s position as the cyber centre of the UK.
At a launch event hosted at Ewood Park – home to Blackburn Rovers FC – Mo Isap, CEO of IN4 Group and a proud Blackburnian, said:
There has never been a scholarship like this one in the country – the young people here today are pioneers, they are unique.
The MEGA programme is designed to inspire the next generation of digital leaders by providing equal access to opportunities, regardless of background.
We are working with billion-pound companies to offer those opportunities – opportunities that we haven’t seen before and this is momentous for Blackburn with Darwen and our young people, our future.
We want to motivate our youngsters, particularly those at risk of disengaging from education, to discover their passion and realise their potential.
By removing barriers and offering practical pathways into the tech industry, we’re building a diverse and inclusive talent pipeline that drives real change for the future.
The two-year programme is aimed at college and sixth form students, and an impressive 50 MEGA Scholarships will be awarded through a competitive process, which started at the launch event last week.
The scholarships aim to equip the youngsters with the skills they need to secure places at top universities and on degree apprenticeships post 18.
The scheme will offer careers insight, mock assessment centres, training in public speaking, interview preparation workplace visits and mentoring, plus support with applications and even a hackathon.
Each scholarship student will receive £1,000, with dedicated mentorship from global tech firms such as IBM, KPMG, CGI, QinetiQ, Northrop Grumman and BT.
On completion, the students will achieve a CyberEPQ – an advanced qualification worth 28 UCAS points, AWS and Microsoft accreditation and industry placements.
Councillor Phil Riley, Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, added:
We absolutely share Mo’s enormous ambition for our towns and for our youngsters and their futures.
We’re incredibly proud that, through our partnership with the IN4 Group and with the support of Blackburn College, Blackburn with Darwen is home to the first-ever MEGA Hub in the country and now the first-ever MEGA Scholarships too.
Investing in pioneering schemes like these help us to level the playing field and open doors to high-profile tech careers – opportunities we want to unlock for the young people in our borough.
With the National Cyber Force’s investment in Samlesbury set to create thousands of jobs and the lift we are seeing wider in the tech industry; we are committed to ensuring that local talent becomes the natural choice for these exciting opportunities.
Deputy Leader of the Council and Executive Member for Children, Young People and Education, Councillor Julie Gunn, added:
It was fantastic to attend the launch of the MEGA Scholarships and hear all about this pioneering and very exciting new scheme.
Our children and young people in Blackburn with Darwen deserve opportunities like these – opportunities that no other place in the country is offering.
The scholarships will build on the fantastic work that the MEGA Hubs are already doing in our high schools, and it was fantastic to see students from our schools at the launch.
We want to inspire our youngsters to be the very best they can be and to pursue careers that they may not have ever even dreamt of.
The MEGA Programme, which has now been commissioned across Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, and Nelson and Colne, introduces a unique out-of-school-hours super-curriculum aimed at high-prior-attaining Key Stage 3 students.
This initiative has been designed to extend the reach of the National Cyber Security Centre’s CyberFirst Programme.
This groundbreaking initiative sets a new benchmark for education-industry collaboration, equipping young talent with the tools and opportunities needed to excel in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.
By aligning with local authorities and leveraging the expertise of IN4 Group and its industry partners, the MEGA Programme demonstrates how targeted interventions can unlock potential and align young people to the opportunities in the region.