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Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Raafat Hendy, attended the graduation ceremony of the third cohort of the Superhero Academy, the National Telecommunication Institute’s (NTI) cybersecurity academy for children and young people.

The program, organized by NTI in cooperation with the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA), represented by the Egyptian Computer Emergency Readiness Team (EG-CERT), graduated more than 6,000 trainees from across Egypt.

The ceremony, held at NTI’s headquarters in Knowledge City in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital, also included the signing of three new cooperation protocols aimed at strengthening specialized training, developing practical skills, and aligning training outcomes with labor market requirements.

During the event, Minister Raafat Hendy said the strong participation in the academy reflects growing awareness among young people and their families of the importance of cybersecurity and the need to acquire digital skills.

He added that cybersecurity has become a key pillar of Egypt’s digital transformation strategy and an essential factor in building trust in digital services.

The minister noted that the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology places cybersecurity among its priorities amid the rapid expansion of digital transformation and artificial intelligence applications.

According to Hendy, AI offers significant opportunities to improve efficiency and services, but it also creates new challenges, including identity theft, deepfakes, misinformation and data breaches. He stressed the need to develop qualified professionals capable of addressing these risks and promoting a safer digital environment.

Training Programs and Graduates

This year’s academy expanded its reach to graduates from 27 governorates, with training delivered through 19 training locations in 17 governorates.

The first phase, targeting children and teenagers aged 8 to 17, graduated 4,626 participants. The program focused on basic cybersecurity awareness and addressed risks including phishing, online fraud, account and password theft, cyberbullying, online grooming, blackmail, identity theft, and the risks associated with sharing personal information and photos online.

A total of 38 teams from the 8–11 and 12–14 age groups were selected for an additional training camp designed to help participants develop their ideas into practical projects. Competitions were also organized to select and recognize winning teams in each age category.

The second phase targeted university students aged 18 to 21 and graduated 1,324 participants. Training was delivered through four specialized tracks: penetration testing, network security, security operations centers (SOC), and cyber operations.

Within just one week of completing the training, 382 graduates, representing approximately 28.9% of the second-phase graduates, completed freelance cybersecurity assignments through 20 freelancing platforms, generating more than $6,000 in total revenue.

Graduates of the SOC, network security and cyber operations tracks also received certifications from international technology companies’ academies, alongside free or discounted vouchers for relevant international certification exams.

The third phase focused on university graduates with backgrounds in cybersecurity. It trained 227 participants in Cloud Security and Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC), providing advanced skills aligned with the evolving needs of the cybersecurity sector.

All graduates of the Cloud Security track received the AWS Academy Cloud Security Foundations badge and the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification.

New Private-Sector Partnerships

The ceremony also witnessed the signing of three cooperation protocols between NTI and private-sector companies.

The agreements included a partnership with ICT-MISR to train students and graduates in cybersecurity and advanced technologies and prepare them for the labor market; an agreement with Codengine to launch the Egypt Cyber Heroes Hackathon 2026 for children and young people; and a partnership with F5 Services (Egypt) to establish an F5 training academy at NTI.

The partnerships are intended to expand specialized training, strengthen practical skills, and create additional opportunities for employment, freelancing and professional specialization.

The ceremony concluded with the recognition of winners from different age groups, as well as the top three graduates in completing freelance assignments during the second phase and three outstanding graduates from the third phase.

The graduation ceremony was also broadcast live via videoconferencing, connecting the main event at Knowledge City with 17 NTI locations across Egypt, allowing graduates and their families in different governorates to follow the event remotely.