Pledgers’ Share & Connect: Cybersecurity Skills in a Changing World

In our April Pledgers’ Share & Connect webinar, we listened to presentations from our Pledgers BøthOfUs, Expertware, Science Entrepreneurship Technology University (SET University), and CYRUS who provided insights into why cybersecurity is crucial in Europe, and the need for cybersecurity training. The EIT Deep Tech Talent Initiative currently has 174 Pledgers specialising in cybersecurity and data protection, along with 26 courses available through its course catalogue.

Presentations began with Tiberiu Baraboi, Solutions Architect and Founder of Expertware, who introduced the audience to SIEMBIOT, Expertware’s collaborative and EU co-funded, cybersecurity research platform, built on top of industrialised SOCaaS, that focuses on threat intel dissemination and provides an educational tool in the field of cybersecurity, enhancing existing teaching methods by offering a virtual laboratory based on real and anonymised data. He also outlined opportunities available for collaborations with larger actors to help Expertware identify areas to improve SIEMBIOT, or partners who wish to create their own cybersecurity trainings or train other users.

Then, Kay Nag, UN & EU expert on Deep Tech & Commercialisation, and Founder of BøthOfUs, explained how Stockholm-based BøthOfUs builds innovation ecosystems for countries, such as setting up innovation hubs, capacity building and skills development, and training municipal employees in cybersecurity. He highlighted that BøthOfUs wants to create true advocacy and lobbying for deep tech and digitalisation through innovation departments, the Green Deal & Union of Skills frameworks, and skills development. Since 2017, BøthOfUs has raised EUR 50 million in institutional funding to run programmes, and enhanced four countries’ vocational school syllabuses with digital tech.

SET University: Tech has no borders

Jane Klepa (Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship) & Yulia Buryk (Director of Strategic Development and Partnerships) from SET University in Ukraine, provided an insight into the university’s experience of cybersecurity education and deep tech startup ecosystem building.

SET University bridges the gap between academia and business needs, with a team of experts from tech businesses, hands-on professionals, and backed up by academia. Its mission is to empower innovators to shape the changing world by giving them all the tools they need to create powerful tech businesses.

Turning resilience in cybersecurity into expertise

Since the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine, Ukraine has become the most cyber-attacked country and ranks second globally in terms of cybercrime threat level. SET University realised from day one, cybersecurity needed to be a priority and worked to turn their experience into cybersecurity expertise that could be brought to the world table and shared globally; and their first free cybersecurity course received 5,000 applications in two weeks!

Full-cycle tech ecosystem

SET University is not only an educator, but also a full-cycle tech ecosystem, consisting of three pillars:

• Education: Masters, MircoMasters, and short programmes
• Innovation & Startups: SET Accelerator, and Spin Outs, two cybersecurity spin outs;
  • IronCyber: Offers a unique partnership to enhance cybersecurity education and training, grounded in hands-on practice, battle-tested against advanced threats, and strengthened through collaboration with leading global tech experts. Students also have opportunity to join and see how companies are working. This is one more revenue strand for university, but also practical thing
  • SET CyberLab: Is a joint startup with US-based, Hilltop Technologies, whose goal is to develop frontline-tested expertise in cybersecurity and share it worldwide, provide practical global experience to SET students, and grow Ukraine’s tech sector by creating more jobs and businesses
• Industry Collaboration and Impact: Expert services and special projects, including SET University’s Third Mission Projects to build a digital culture from schools to professions, comprising:
  • EncycLED: Cybersecurity education for children aged 8-16, to raise a digitally literate, cyber-aware generation, that will help create a safer digital future across Europe and Ukraine.
  • DIGARD V4U: Digital Innovation for Dispute Resolution in Central Europe and Ukraine that will empower legal professionals and future Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) specialists with the digital tools and knowledge they need to navigate an evolving legal landscape.

SET University brings hands-on expertise to everything they do. All courses are taught in English with a real-world focus from global experts working in the field, for example, there are professors, an ex-Uber employee, ex-Tesla, along with others working as CEOs or CTOs to show best practices.

Collaboration opportunities

SET University has a broad ecosystem of partners from governments to global organisations and has various collaboration opportunities:

• SET University welcomes global experts as guest lecturers and professors to contribute to education programmes
• Forming consortiums and combining strengths to pursue joint opportunities across Europe and beyond
• Creating and building startups
• Upskilling teams with micro-credential programmes that build cutting-edge, practical skills

CYRUS: Enhancing cybersecurity skills through free training courses

CYRUS is a project co-funded by the EU with a focus on developing a personalised, customised, work-based training framework for enhanced cybersecurity skills across industrial sectors.

Claudia Romero (Ecosystem and Project Manager) and Katharina Lange (Communication Manager) explained that in today’s ever-evolving digital world, cybercrime is on the rise, with a worldwide estimated cost of USD 23.82 trillion per year!

CYRUS designs and implements cybersecurity training courses to improve the cybersecurity skills of employees at all levels and give them the means to identify and mitigate cyber threats. However, this comes with many challenges, not least because automation, robotics, and AI are advancing rapidly which increases the risk of exposure to cyber-attacks. Cybercriminals are also adapting, targeting people, not just systems, which means a new approach to security is required.

Cybersecurity training

Cybersecurity is complex and changing rapidly, additionally, there’s a wealth of training offerings which makes it difficult to find suitable courses. Additionally, learners like dedicated time for training, so it needs to be flexible, engaging, and tailored.

In 2023, CYRUS analysed the skills and training needs, and the most important cyber threats, to develop a cybersecurity framework and customised training courses, both of which were validated in the pilot phase with more than 500 participants. The framework and courses were then refined following feedback.

The three key changes from the pilot feedback were:

• More flexibility:
  • Wider variety of formats including e-learning, instructor-led online and in-person sessions.
  • The e-learning consists of chunked content and microlearning pills suitable for blended lifestyles
  • Shorter educational paths with a maximum of four-hour courses to accommodate busy professionals
• Higher customisation:
  • Tailored for Transport and Manufacturing (TM) sectors with more examples and case studies.
  • Adapted for various roles, administrative staff, operators, engineers, etc.
  • Training courses in different languages. Currently available in English, Polish, Hungarian, and Italian, with more languages planned
• Higher engagement:
  • More interactive exercises
  • Different speakers to deliver content

There are opportunities for training and industry providers to collaborate with CYRUS.

 

The next Pledgers’ Share & Connect will be a two-hour workshop at the Deep Tech Atelier event in Riga on 15 May 2025. Click here for more information.