The Institute of Cyber Security for Society (iCSS) at the University of Kent (UK) has become the latest ISC2 academic partner in the UK.

To mark the occasion, community members came together on Kent’s Canterbury campus to celebrate the new partnership, training schemes and the award-winning outputs from their 2023-24 CyberAnything Competition. The competition, organised by iCSS, the Kent & Medway Cyber Cluster (KMCC), a recognised cyber security cluster for Kent and Medway, and the Kent & Medway Cyber Security Student Society (KMCS3) challenged members of the University of Kent and the public including schoolchildren to submit creative and thought-provoking depictions of the ways in which cyber security has become part of our everyday lives. It was launched to raise awareness about cyber security and empower more individuals to learn how to protect themselves and others online. The event was a great opportunity to celebrate the partnership and meet the public as we join forces with KMCC to close the cyber security work force skills gap currently faced by businesses globally.

“It was such a great event – I enjoyed presenting to the 90 people in the auditorium as we went through ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study research as well as meeting many new colleagues. We’re delighted to be working with Professor Li and his team and growing our partnership for success,” said Tabitha Flax, Associate Director of ISC2 Channel Partnerships.

Shujun Li, Professor of Cyber Security and Director of iCSS, University of Kent shared, “We are really glad to see many quality submissions to this year’s CyberAnything Competitions. We were particularly glad to have received submissions from two school pupils, which show how we can do more by working closely with children, schools, teachers and parents. We are also excited to see the new academic partnership with ISC2, and can’t wait to start planning our future cyber security certification training activities, which will certainly help inspire more to consider a cyber security career pathway.”

Additional presenters included Director and CEO of KMCC & CISO of Recorded Future Jason Steer along with Dr. Alexandra Covaci, Senior Lecturer in Digital Arts and Technology and iCSS’s Taught Student Engagement Lead who announced the prize winners at the event.

"The industry is desperate for more people with the skills needed to deal with cyber-attacks. We’re delighted to be working in partnership with the University of Kent as a leading centre of excellence in cybersecurity. They have an impressive team of cyber experts, supporting students and the business community. I’m looking forward to working with Professor Li and his team,” said Alex Mortimer, ISC2 Academic Partnerships Lead.