- Alex Högback
- Fanny Rotino
- Caroline Troein
- Gustavo Fonseca Ribeiro
Introductory
Event organizer(s)
Initiative
Description
As countries accelerate their school connectivity efforts, a parallel imperative emerges: the urgent need to build cyber-resilient educational ecosystems. The rapid expansion of digital infrastructure in schools significantly increases the national attack surface, yet these institutions are frequently the most vulnerable and overlooked in national cybersecurity strategies.
This specialized training program addresses this critical gap by equipping government regulators and policymakers with strategic frameworks and practical tools to proactively identify systemic vulnerabilities, craft risk-informed policies, and orchestrate cross-sector collaboration. The curriculum moves beyond theory, promoting cooperation between ministries, telecom regulators, internet service providers, and international partners.
Through a hands-on, assignment-driven approach spanning six modules, participants will learn to conduct cybersecurity readiness assessments, map critical stakeholders, develop incident response plans, and design phased implementation roadmaps. With a dedicated focus on Child Online Protection (COP), the course ensures that the mission of digital inclusion advances in lockstep with the imperative of student safety.
This course is specifically designed for government officials, regulators, and policy makers responsible for developing, implementing, or supervising national strategies on school connectivity and digital transformation. It targets participants engaged in expanding internet access to schools and improving the resilience of national education networks.
Members of the above-mentioned target population are invited to apply for the training if they meet the following criteria:
- Hold an undergraduate degree in a relevant field OR a minimum of three years of experience in a related field if no degree is held.
- Possess English language proficiency.
Government officials, members of cybersecurity agencies, and regulatory bodies, and particularly women are encouraged to apply.
Selection will be conducted by the course organizers, who will consider the above entry requirements along with an analysis of the application questionnaire, CV, and the recommendation or motivation letters of each applicant.
Number of available places for the cohort: 40
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
- Outline and explain the cybersecurity implications of expanding internet access to schools, identifying key risks, challenges, and opportunities associated with digital inclusion initiatives using structured assessment frameworks.
- Understand and assess potential vulnerabilities within national education connectivity infrastructures, including technical, organizational, and human factors that affect the security and reliability of school networks, and prioritize them based on impact and feasibility.
- Collaborate effectively with key stakeholders — including telecom operators, ministries, educational institutions, and international development partners — to design, coordinate, and implement comprehensive cybersecurity strategies for the education sector through formal coordination mechanisms like national task forces.
- Develop and formulate policy recommendations that integrate cybersecurity into national and regional digital inclusion strategies, aligning with international best practices such as the ITU Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) and promoting sustainable, secure school connectivity.
- Apply practical tools and frameworks for mapping vulnerabilities, stakeholder engagement, and roadmap design to strengthen national capacities for cyber resilience in education, culminating in the creation of a phased national implementation plan.
- Demonstrate an integrated understanding of how initiatives such as the Giga project and national digital transformation agendas can contribute to creating a safe, connected, and inclusive learning environment by synthesizing all course components into an actionable capstone project.
To achieve the objectives described, the course content will be delivered using an online instructor-led methodology, allowing the participants to access the course from anywhere and offering flexibility and convenience.
Live sessions will be conducted through the Zoom platform, facilitating direct interaction between the instructor and the participants as well as among the participants themselves. This approach fosters active engagement through real-time discussions, collaborative group activities, and immediate feedback, ensuring a dynamic and interactive learning environment.
The course structure will be the following:
- Online instructor-led lectures and assignments (1-5 modules)
- Online instructor-led group presentation - capstone project - module 6
Participants will be required to actively participate in the live sessions as well as deliver a capstone project (group presentation) at the end of the training course and pass the final quiz.
The assessment and grading methodology will include:
- Active participation in the live sessions + module assignments (20%): Full attendance is required. Active contributions in discussions, exercises, and peer exchanges will be noted.
- A final group presentation - capstone project (40%): Groups will present their developed outputs, including checklist, stakeholder mapping, and implementation roadmap.
- Final quiz (40%): 20 questions covering key cybersecurity concepts from the course.
A total score of at least 70% is required to obtain the ITU certificate.
Module 1 - Foundations of Secure School Connectivity
- Live session: Tuesday, 3 March 2026 (14.00–15.30 CET)
- Learn what cybersecurity is, why it matters for connecting schools, and what threats schools commonly face in today's digital landscape.
Module 2 - Policy Frameworks & Incident Response
- Live session: Thursday, 5 March 2026 (14.00–15.30 CET)
- Explore national cybersecurity strategies, key frameworks like NIST and ISO 27001, and understand how to structure an incident response plan with clear roles and responsibilities.
Module 3 - In-depth cyber safety for schools: protection, response, and stakeholder mapping
- Live session: Tuesday, 10 March 2026 (14.00–15.30 CET)
- Understand child online protection principles and gain practical tools to assess your school's cybersecurity readiness.
Module 4 - Implementation tools
- Live session: Thursday, 12 March 2026 (14.00–15.30 CET)
- Learn how to build coordination mechanisms and develop incident response plans for national education networks, clarifying stakeholder roles and communication strategies.
Module 5 - Mapping Vulnerabilities and Designing Roadmaps
- Live session: Tuesday, 17 March 2026 (14.00–15.30 CET)
- Identify critical vulnerabilities by analyzing checklist gaps and stakeholder dynamics, then design a phased roadmap to address them over short, medium, and long-term timeframes.
Module 6 - Building a cybersecure school ecosystem
- Live session: Thursday, 19 March 2026 (14.00–15.30 CET)
- Present your capstone project, showcasing your vulnerability analysis, stakeholder engagement plan, and implementation strategy.
Final Quiz
- Open from 19 March (16:00 CET) - 23 March (16:00 CET)
- A 20-question quiz assessing key cybersecurity concepts through a mix of single- and multiple-choice items, matching questions, and other formats for a balanced evaluation.
Tutors
Registration information
Unless specified otherwise, all ITU Academy training courses are open to all interested professionals, irrespective of their race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, economic status and other diverse backgrounds. We strongly encourage registrations from female participants, and participants from developing countries. This includes least developed countries, small island developing states and landlocked developing countries.
