Our teacher sponsor

Dr. Mahesh Chugani

Dr. Chugani teaches the Cybersecurity, Quantum Computing & AI district program and is one of the teachers in the Mechatronics-Robotics Academy in the West Vancouver School District. Passionate about hands‑on, project‑based learning, where theory is applied to practice, he blends strong technical expertise with real‑world applications to prepare students for post‑secondary study and careers in computing. His students have won awards at local, national, and international competitions — including Young Defenders of the North, Knowledgeflow #Unhackathons, UBC's Quantum Game Jam, and the CyberPatriot/CyberTitan cybersecurity competition.

Our Story

The Cyber Forward Initiative began after a local
retirement home invited us to give a presentation on
online safety. While teaching residents about phishing
scams, we were struck by how little our audience
knew about digital threats but also by how eager they
were to learn. This experience opened our eyes to the
growing need for accessible cyber education across
all ages. Inspired by our first workshop, we created
the Cyber Forward Initiative to help communities feel
more confident when navigating technology!

The Cyber Forward Initiative began after a local retirement home invited us to give a presentation on online safety. While teaching residents about phishing scams, we were struck by how little our audience knew about digital threats but also by how eager they were to learn. This experience opened our eyes to the growing need for accessible cyber education across all ages. Inspired by our first workshop, we created the Cyber Forward Initiative to help communities feel more confident when navigating technology!