Supporting great youth-focused projects
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We’re proud to announce that our team at InternetNZ has been able to provide funding for more projects during this challenging time. These sponsorships are focused on rangatahi, or youth-focused, and we hope they’ll make some big waves in generations to come.
NZ Cyber Security Challenge 2020, by the University of Waikato
The NZ Cyber Security Challenge is hosted by Waikato University and invites high school students, university students, and industry members from across New Zealand to take part in a series of challenges.
This year, from 25 May - 11 June, they have decided to take the event online. In 2019, there were around 550 participants in Round 0, and 160 of them were invited for Rounds 1-3 of the competition. Due to better online accessibility, they anticipate an even greater number of participants this time around.
It’s our fourth year sponsoring the challenge and awards. It’s a fantastic opportunity to be involved in the information security community and is an area of the Internet community we hope to continue working with.
GirlBoss Edge, online career accelerator programme by GirlBossNZ
We are also supporting GirlBossNZ again, but this time for their 10-day career accelerator programme called 'GirlBoss Edge'.
The GirlBoss Edge idea was sparked by the Ministry of Education who went to GirlBoss founder Alexia Hilbertidou asking "What can we do to keep up the spirits and motivation of the young women (16-18) of New Zealand through COVID-19?"
This free digital programme can be accessed from anywhere (in or out of lockdown), and includes professional videos, personalised feedback, Facebook Live sessions, goodie bags (including custom cookie boxes!) and masterclasses in personal branding, networking, LinkedIn, and interviewing—but the most 'extra element' is glorious, inspirational, glamorous, compassionate, smart, approachable and charismatic mentors. Young women will be mentored by, and connect with, these industry leaders.
The Ministry of Education will be funding the initial pilot for 50 students, followed by further funding for an additional 110. Our funding will help onboard an additional intake of 40 young women to participate in the course.
As unemployment rises, school leavers face ever greater hurdles as they contemplate their future—youth unemployment, impacts on their social lives, schooling, and whanau. Inclusion and community are more important than ever. This new programme will help the sustainability of the GirlBossNZ brand in future years, so we were keen to offer support.
For more information on future sponsorship opportunities, keep an eye on our website where we will update with details as soon as they’re available.