On 31 March this year, the three‑day face‑to‑face workshop organized under the Erasmus+ project Cyber4CA — Development of Innovative Graduate Educational Program in Cybersecurity for the Digital Labour Market of Central Asia officially opened at the International Information Technology University (IITU) in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The event brought together partner universities from Europe and Central Asia, representatives of relevant ministries, and industry experts. On the first day of the workshop, extensive discussions were held on cybersecurity study programs in EU and partner countries, CyberLab models, teaching methodologies, and practical training activities.
European partners — Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), University of Antwerp (UAntwerp), Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (SSSA) and University Politehnica of Bucharest (UNSTPB) — presented advanced European practices in cybersecurity education and laboratory work, which attracted strong interest from participants. Representatives from Uzbekistan — Tashkent University of Information Technologies (TUIT), National University of Uzbekistan (NUU), University of Management and Future Technologies (UMFT), UNICON.UZ and other partners — shared their practical experience and national needs. At the end of the first day, three main working groups were formed:
- Curriculum Content
- CyberLabs and Practical Training
- Policy Alignment and Institutional Support
Over the coming days, these groups will compare EU and partner‑country course lists, identify new courses and modules, adapt EU experience to regional conditions, and develop concrete recommendations for new master’s modules and CyberLab infrastructure. They will also prepare technical and organizational recommendations for CyberLab and practical training, conduct technical visits and industry excursions, and finalize recommendations for project management, quality assurance, WP3 (curriculum development) and WP4 (CyberLab).
The recommendations developed during this workshop will directly influence the formation of regional master’s programs and CyberLab infrastructure and will contribute to the modernization of cybersecurity education across Central Asian countries.