Government's top secret communications HQ praises Edinburgh Napier's cyber security

Edinburgh Napier University is among the first in the UK to be recognised for its commitment to cyber security education under a new initiative from Government communications HQ.

PGP Academic - Bill Buchanan (Dr), lecturer in the School of Computing

It is one of eight institutions named today by the National Cyber Security Centre as an Academic Centre of Excellence (ACE) in Cyber Security Education for delivering first-rate cyber security education on campus and promoting cyber skills in the community.

Edinburgh Napier was recognised with the initiative’s Silver award for its ambitious vision in the field.

The University already has NCSC-certified undergraduate and postgraduate programmes - BEng Cybersecurity and Forensics, and MSc Advanced Security and Digital Forensics – which underlines the value of the qualifications, and helps to attract high quality students from around the world.

Cyber security lab

The newly-announced NCSC accolade will now see cyber security spread into other programmes across the wider university.

Professor Bill Buchanan, from Edinburgh Napier’s School of Computing, said: “The work of the NCSC is key to the development of excellence in cyber security education and knowledge exchange. These new ACEs will spread cyber security collaboration across their institution.

“Moreover, they will support a core collaborative foundation around cyber security education and knowledge exchange within each of their geographical areas. This includes working with industry, the public sector, government agencies, colleges, and so on.

“It is hoped that the ACEs-CSE will develop as trusted fundamental building blocks for a safe, secure, resilient and enterprising country. The days of silos of knowledge have passed, and we all need to work together and share our knowledge.”

Chris Ensor, NCSC Deputy Director for Cyber Growth, said: “I am delighted we can now recognise the first tranche of universities as Academic Centres of Excellence in Cyber Security Education, complementing our existing programmes which recognise high quality cyber security research and degree courses.

“It is a testament to the continual efforts of academics, support staff and senior management that cyber security remains high on their agenda.

Digital Infrastructure Minister Matt Warman said: “The UK has some of the brightest minds in the world working in tech and it's right we celebrate universities where so many people develop relevant and cutting-edge skills.

"We continue to work closely with academia to nurture the next generation of cyber security talent and I urge interested education institutions to apply for this recognition.”

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