Support future cyber leaders.

Two ways to get involved.

Volunteer your time at the Regional Qualifiers (early February, locations TBC) or National Final (mid March, London).

Our competition judges are cyber professionals in both technical & non-technical roles working in industry or government.

As a judge, you are tasked with taking on the role of decision-makers scoring the university students teams on their response to the cyber incident scenario.

In each round, teams give a 10-minute verbal presentation, followed by 10-minutes of questions from the judging panel of 4-6 cyber professionals.

In addition to judging, you can also spend time networking with the students and other competition supporters. Some judges are also invited to deliver keynotes or workshops to the student teams.

The time commitment is around 1 hour before the event reviewing judging material plus a full working day at the event (lunch & refreshments are provided).

Become a judge.

Join the organising team.

Volunteer your time to support the organisation team throughout the competition year (September - March) or at the event days (early February and/or mid March).

Within the organising team we have roles in scenario development; marketing and event planning.

The time commitment is weekly 1-hour meetings plus additional work between meetings. As a volunteer, the workload depends on your time availability and the needs of the competition.

For event day support, the commitment is the event day itself plus around 2 hours of preparation.

Joining the organising team is an exciting way to experience the behind the scenes of running a growing event.

You will get the opportunity to work with some great people, deliver real impact and meet interesting cyber professionals from all levels of government & industry.

Why compete?

Gain experience.

This is a practice-based exercise. You will be presenting to real cyber professionals, who do this for a living.

Meet employers.

Meet a variety of employers from the public & private sector, who are actively recruitment our competitors.

Discover the legal, political & strategic elements of cyber that are crucial to a successful career.

Explore a new side of cyber.

Competition Timeline.

Applications.

Oct - Dec 2025

University students form teams of 4 with support from an academic mentor and apply to the competition.

Regional Qualifiers.

Early Feb 2026

Teams put their skills to the test by presenting their response to Scenario Stage 1 to a panel of expert judges.

National Final.

Mid Mar 2026

The top 17 teams compete at the BT Tower, London to be crowned national champions in 3 rounds with increasing time pressure.

Ongoing Community.

All competitors are invited to join the Cyber Leaders Challenge Alumni community, supporting each other to progress in our cyber careers.

Our organising team is working on scenario development, university outreach, supporter engagement and event planning during this time.

Different members of the organising team provide on event day support for various activities such as timekeeping in competition rounds.

Again, the team supports various activities during the event. The organising team also attends the VIP Reception on day 1 of the National Finals.

Interested in supporting the competition?

If you'd like to join the organising team or volunteer as a competition judge, then please fill out this form.