Call to industry and academia: join the Industry-Academia Network of the Cybersecurity Skills Academy

The European Commission has opened a new call to higher education institutions, vocational education and training providers, European universities alliances, and industry to join the Industry-Academia Network of the Cybersecurity Skills Academy. 

Cybersecurity is a top priority for the European Union, and bridging the skills gap is crucial to ensuring our digital economy remains secure and competitive. The launch of the Industry-Academia Network under the European Cyber Skills Academy is a significant step forward in achieving this goal. I encourage all stakeholders to join forces and together build a robust ecosystem that addresses the needs of the cybersecurity job market and supports the growth of a highly skilled EU workforce.

- Henna Virkkunen, EVP for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy

Objectives of the Industry-Academia Network

The Industry-Academia Network of the Cybersecurity Skills Academy aims to build concrete interdisciplinary collaborations and partnerships between its members (key actors from industry and academia) to respond to all skillsets that cybersecurity roles call for, and ultimately grow the European cyber workforce. 

This includes potential actions such as giving students access to state-of-the-art trainings and certifications; design and update of cybersecurity curricula and training offers; provision of on-the-job cybersecurity courses; opening up apprenticeships, internships, and traineeship opportunities; elaborating mentorship programmes; developing cybersecurity learning micro-credentials; and presence at targeted career fairs. 

Learn more and apply

Start by looking through the Cyber Skills Academy: Get Involved page and the dedicated FAQ. 

• Industry: Companies or firms who have already pledged to the Cybersecurity Skills Academy are automatically member of the network on the industry side. If you are a company, become a pledger!
• Academia: Higher education institutions, European Universities alliances, and VET providers interested in joining the network can apply through EU Survey

By joining forces, industry and academia can work together to address the pressing need for cybersecurity talent in the EU and create a more secure digital environment for all Europeans.

Background: signed partnerships under the Network

The Industry-Academia Network already counts 8 partnerships: 

1. CompTIA and OpenClassrooms
2. Fortinet and CodeAcademy
3. Fortinet and Scheer School of Digital Sciences at Saarland University
4. Fortinet and the University of Girona
5. ISC2 and CodeAcademy
6. ISC2 and Compendium Centrum Edukacyjne
7. ISC2 and OpenClassrooms
8. ISC2 and the University of Girona 

Background information 

The Cybersecurity Skills Academy aims to foster knowledge generation, ensure better channeling and visibility over available funding opportunities, define indicators to monitor the evolution of the market, and call stakeholders to take action. 

Following this call to action, organisations have taken free-of-charge commitments to bridge the cybersecurity talent gap in the EU and to skill the EU cybersecurity workforce, by becoming pledgers of the Cybersecurity Skills Academy. 

Building on feedback from pledgers, the Commission launched the Industry-Academia Network of the Cybersecurity Skills Academy in June 2025. The Network’s primary objective is to foster cooperation between academia and industry and the significant skills and cybersecurity talent gap within the European Union.