UWE Bristol’s gold award for cyber security education renewed for further three years

UWE Bristol’s Gold Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Education (ACE-CSE) status has been renewed by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

The status was initially granted to the University in 2020 in recognition of its cyber security excellence. At that point, UWE Bristol was among the first higher education institutions in the UK to gain recognition for delivering first-rate cyber security education on campus, as well as promoting cyber skills in the community.

Now, the cyber security provision at the University has been re-evaluated by assessors from the NCSC and has again come through with flying colours with the awarding of a renewed ACE-CSE recognition which runs until April 2029.

Phil Legg, Professor in Cyber Security, said: “It’s a tremendous honour that the NCSC have recognised the hard work and commitment of the team at UWE Bristol, acknowledging our work across the region in terms of promoting cyber security education both internally and externally.

“UWE Bristol has a long-standing record in cyber security education, as well as on external engagement and research with industry and government, to support the NCSC mission of making the UK the safest place to live and work online.”

UWE Bristol is one of 15 universities in the UK to hold the gold award standard. Universities that aspire to be recognised must go through a rigorous process to prove to independent assessors that they are developing an influential and growing community of cyber security educators, shaping and supporting cyber security education, and engaging with industry, government, educators and students.

UWE Bristol hosts a range of activities that contributed to the renewal of its ACE-CSE status. The University offers NCSC-certified degree programmes, including the MSc Cyber Security and the BSc Cyber Security Technical Professional degree apprenticeship. UWE Bristol has led the UnlockCyber outreach programme – connecting schools to cyber security workshops and career opportunities – since 2017 and is a founding institution of the CSE Connect cyber security education network that supports academic collaboration in cyber security education to upskill the national workforce.

The University promotes cyber security across the institution through schemes including its Cyber Security Awareness week. External engagement work with industry and government helps ensure UWE Bristol is contributing to cyber security matters beyond the organisation, including participation on the UK Government Cyber Advisory Board and by having direct industry involvement and partnerships in teaching and extracurricular opportunities.