An increasingly complex threat landscape.

Future cyber leaders need to be equipped to handle an increasingly complex threat landscape. They need to be able to communicate with & co-ordinate stakeholders from across government & industry in the UK and internationally.

The UK needs to accelerate work to keep pace with the changing threat, particularly in... the nation’s most critical sectors.

NCSC Annual Review 2023

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The need for multidisciplinary skills.

We need young talent with technical understanding, strategic awareness and collaborative skills. The UK Cyber Leaders Challenge brings together government, industry & academia to support students from all backgrounds to become the UK’s future cyber leaders.

Collaboration across academia, the private and public sectors is crucial for developing cutting edge science and technology solutions for national security.

Anne Keast-Butler, Director of GCHQ speaking at CYBERUK 2024

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Widening career pathways.

We help students from any background find their place in cyber. Through the competition, students with technological skills are exposed to the strategy side of cyber.

For students from non-STEM subjects, such as politics or law, there is no clear pathway into a cyber career. We offer an alternative to current opportunities that are geared towards deep technological understanding.

The non-technical skills are critical in cyber, especially at a senior level.

Robert Black, Director of Cyber Leaders Challenge

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UK Cyber Leaders Challenge.

Empowering students from any background to start their career in cyber.

Inspire.

Inspiring students from diverse backgrounds to see opportunities in cyber.

Empower.

Empowering students to develop human-centric & leadership skills.

Connect.

Connecting future talent to a community of government, industry & academia.

How it Works.

Applications

Oct - Dec 2024

Form your team of 4 university students & an academic mentor

Regional Qualifiers

Early Feb 2025

Put your skills to the test responding to phase 1 of the scenario

National Final

19th & 20th Mar 2025

Compete at the BT Tower, London to be crowned national champions

Our team.

Rob Black

Director

Senior advisor, kpmg

cyber citizen of the year, 2024

Ben Wainwright

Operations lead

co-founder, remap mental fitness

Sofia Liemann Escobar

scenario lead

pHd researcher, royal holloway

Boris Taratine

Technical Scenario lead

cyber security advisor & architect

Lindsay Wotjula

supporter lead; scenario team

Incident response analyst

Sophie Powell

joint comms lead; scenario team

cyber security consultant

founder, cyberwomen groups c.i.c.

Alex Blinda

events lead; scenario team

senior analyst, pwc

Jenny McCullagh

joint comms lead; scenario team

cyber security engineer

founder, cyberwomen groups c.i.c.

Our core team comes from across the cyber, government & business landscape. Together, we have a track record of widening participation in cyber through community-driven events.