New Academic Centres of Excellence in cyber security

Eight trailblazing universities have become the first in the UK to gain recognition for their commitment to cyber security education in a new initiative from the National Cyber Security Centre.

The pioneering institutions have been recognised as the country’s first Academic Centres of Excellence in Cyber Security Education (ACEs-CSE) for delivering first-rate cyber security education on campus and promoting cyber skills in their community.

The ACE-CSE programme, led by the NCSC and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, has recognised eight universities with gold and silver awards – with the next round of applications opening early next year.

Chris Ensor, NCSC Deputy Director for Cyber Growth, said: “I am delighted we can now recognise the first tranche of universities as Academic Centres of Excellence in Cyber Security Education, complementing our existing programmes which recognise high quality cyber security research and degree courses. It is a testament to the continual efforts of academics, support staff and senior management that cyber security remains high on their agenda. We very much look forward to working with them over the coming years and strongly encourage other universities to work towards achieving this ACE-CSE recognition in the future.”

Seven universities received Gold awards in this first round of applications for demonstrating impressive approaches to promoting cyber security excellence. They are: Abertay University; Lancaster University; University of Southampton; University of South Wales; University of Surrey; University of Warwick; and the University of the West of England.

Each of the successful Gold centres demonstrated they offer at least one NCSC-certified degree, deliver top cyber security training to staff and students from other specialisms within the university, work to improve the institution’s cyber resilience and carry out local outreach activities.

Additionally, Edinburgh Napier University was successful in being recognised with a Silver award, for its ambitious vision for delivering cyber security education.

Digital Infrastructure Minister Matt Warman said: “The UK has some of the brightest minds in the world working in tech and it's right we celebrate universities where so many people develop relevant and cutting-edge skills. We continue to work closely with academia to nurture the next generation of cyber security talent and I urge interested education institutions to apply for this recognition.”