- Fortinet programme will provide UAE university students with practical cybersecurity training and industry mentorship.
- IBM SkillsBuild initiative will extend digital and cybersecurity learning to five groups across the UAE.
- The initiatives support the UAE Cyber Security Council’s wider focus on developing national cyber capabilities.
The UAE Cyber Security Council (CSC) is expanding its focus on cybersecurity skills development through new collaborations with Fortinet and IBM aimed at strengthening the country’s pipeline of digital and cybersecurity talent.
The initiatives span university-level practical training, professional development and wider access to digital skills, supporting the UAE’s efforts to develop homegrown expertise as its digital infrastructure and cyber requirements continue to evolve.
Under a new programme with Fortinet, selected university students will receive structured cybersecurity training, hands-on laboratory experience and mentorship from industry specialists. The initiative is being launched under the CSC’s Cyberani Practical Training Initiative, which aims to prepare university students for careers in cybersecurity through practical training with government and industry.
The first phase will be delivered in partnership with a UAE university. Participants will also have the opportunity to work towards Fortinet’s NSE 4 FortiOS certification, covering areas including firewall policies, VPNs, authentication, routing, security profiles and threat protection.
The programme follows a memorandum of understanding between the CSC and Fortinet that included collaboration on cybersecurity skills development and plans to explore a UAE-based Center of Excellence focused on areas including threat intelligence, talent development, startup enablement and policy collaboration.
Separately, the CSC and IBM have announced a skills development initiative giving five groups of learners access to IBM SkillsBuild. These include high school and university students, entry-level employees, government employees, and participants in the Start-up and Innovation Track.
The platform provides access to more than 1,000 courses and digital credentials covering areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data analytics, cloud computing and project management.
The CSC and IBM will work to extend access through the Council’s ecosystem, including CyberE71 and relevant national platforms. The collaboration will also explore practical activities such as hackathons and challenges linked to real-world cybersecurity issues.
His Excellency Dr Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, Head of Cybersecurity for the UAE Government, said developing national cybersecurity capabilities required skills that could be applied to real-world challenges.
The initiatives build on the Council’s wider role in developing cybersecurity awareness and capabilities across the UAE, while bringing government, academia and technology companies together to address the country’s future workforce requirements.
