True to its vocation as an educational research hub, Insight is constantly seeking to understand the digital practices of young people and their take-up of emerging tools and platforms. One effective way of doing this is through SmartBus sessions, an internet safety programme in schools launched in partnership with Huawei in 2019. Before each session, Insight uses its own dedicated, GDPR-compliant platform to quiz the 11 to 14-year-old participants on their digital practices. Local magicians then deliver educational content developed by Insight to help pupils go online more creatively and safely.

One hot topic on the SmartBus agenda for 2024 is Generative AI. Despite the global media hype around this topic, our 2024 findings from 1000 students in Iceland show that only 1 in 3 students have actually tried out Gen AI tools. Even more surprisingly, 56% of these young people say their top concern is that they don’t really understand how AI works. It seems that Gen(erative) AI continues to exacerbate the growing gap between what children are learning at school and the high-powered digital tools they have at their fingertips.

The SmartBus has visited almost 200 schools since its launch, and approximately 12,000 school students have benefited from this face-to-face and hybrid programme. In Finland, almost 600 pupils have visited the SmartBus so far this year. A report will be published in early 2025 to inform policy makers, educators and the general public about the most recent ways young people are using digital technology, as well as their concerns and expectations. In the meantime, readers can discover interesting findings on last year’s trends in the 2023 SmartBus report.

Click here to fill in the SmartBus feedback survey

If your students or your child has recently attended a SmartBus session, we would love to hear from you. Your input will help shape upcoming internet safety initiatives. Please fill in the survey linked above.

The SmartBus was launched in 2019 by Insight as part of Huawei's Tech4all program, and has already benefited more than 10,000 teens in Scandinavia and northern Europe. In 2023, 3,400 young people attended SmartBus sessions in Finland, Iceland and Sweden, and you can read the latest report here.

This week, Insight is participating in panels on cybersecurity (read our research report here) and violence prevention (find one of our antibullying resources here) at the European Economic Forum in Karpacz, Poland.

Insight is a member of the IS3C, an internet standards, safety and security coalition (https://is3coalition.org/) within the UN’s Internet Governance Forum, and Chair of the coalition’s Education and skills working group. On 20 June, we organised and chaired an interactive session on cybersecurity education at the EuroDIG meeting held in the Tampere University in Finland. Together with panelists Wout de Natris (IS3C coordinator), Julia Piechna (NASK, Poland) and Kseniia Gnitko (ISOC Youth), the audience discussed and voted on ways to best meet the growing cybersecurity challenges the world is facing. Improved collaboration between industry and education sectors emerged as an essential starting point, with two thirds of the public also underlining the need to teach cybersecurity from early childhood onwards and to facilitate mid-career changes for employees interested in working in cybersecurity. In coming months, Insight will join forces with the IS3C and NASK to build a cybersecurity hub, building on findings from a worldwide study conducted by Insight (https://is3coalition.org/docs/study-report-is3c-cybersecurity-skills-gap/) and released at the IGF in Ethiopia last year. The hub would not only strive to foster collaboration between all key stakeholders, but also open training opportunities for underserved populations in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Learn more at https://IS3coalition.org.

Join our webinar on Wednesday, 24 May at 16.30 CEST to meet top innovators and educators and have your say on strategies to raise the level of cybersecurity for all.

Cybersecurity is becoming increasingly important for all of us, with so much of our personal information accessible online. On 18 April, we’ll lead a discussion in Poland on the findings and recommendations from our recent Closing the Gap study. Download the IS3C leaflet to learn more, or join us at a future event.