International Telecommunication Union Women in Cyber Mentorship Program for African Students 2023

International Telecommunication Union Women in Cyber, the third year of this program, aims to empower women to develop skills for better gender inclusion in cybersecurity, helping to tackle the workforce challenges still prevalent in the field such as unfilled positions, skills gap, and retention challenges.

While women only account for 24% of the workforce, the WiC program seeks to create a safer cyberspace and increase trust in ICTs by helping to close the workforce and gender gaps in cybersecurity.

Through a targeted approach of Inspire, Train, and Empower, the International Telecommunication Union-D Women in Cyber Program tackles the gender and workforce gaps in cybersecurity through training (both on soft skills and technical topics), role-modeling, and mentorship. All activities will be delivered online over five months from June to October 2023.

About International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

Benefits

• INSPIRE: Four keynote webinars with featured speakers who are well-known women in cybersecurity showcase their career paths, hence promoting role models and the perception of women as valuable additions to the cybersecurity workforce.
• TRAIN: Five technical and soft skills training courses that provide participants with skills for professional and personal development.
• EMPOWER: Two mentorship circle sessions with a live platform for participants to further explore professional and personal development topics with high-level women in cybersecurity.

Requirements

• Minimum 2-3 years of junior level experience in the field of cybersecurity or seeking to enter the cybersecurity workforce from another junior level ICT or STEM position.
• The program will be delivered in English. Participants must have a good working knowledge of English.
• A computer and stable internet connection.
• There are no age restrictions.

How to Apply

• Program seats are limited.
• The delivery platform for the webinars and training is Zoom.
• Selected participants must register for all three parts of the mentorship program (i.e. inspirational keynote webinars, trainings, and mentorship circles).
• Selected applicants to the mentorship circles will be contacted by email by the end of May 2023.