Inspiration

UNbreakable Romania is an end-to-end cybersecurity educational program for high schools and university studentsfrom Romania by Bit Sentinel. UNbreakable’s mission is to provide young cybersecurity enthusiasts with resources, so useful for developing the skills needed to become good cybersecurity specialists.

Bit Sentinel is involved in various international activities focused at promoting cyber security among young generations, including European Cyber Security Challenge (ECSC), ICSC and the national phase (ROCSC) since 2018. Over the years it has been noticed that these competitions are focusing mainly on “elites” – finding best individuals to represent their nation at ECSC/ICSC but organisations do not necessarily want or afford the best. Moreover, even for entry level jobs, companies expect previous experience which in cyber security is hard to get/prove.

UNbreakable’s mission

UNbreakable’s mission is to provide young cybersecurity enthusiasts with the most varied resources, both theoretical and practical, so useful for developing the skills needed to become good cybersecurity specialists.

In addition to an intensive learning environment, the initiative also provides a competitive, testing virtual space that encourages collaboration and knowledge sharing. In the end, UNbreakable results can be used when apply for the first jobs by showing the results during the competition.

Get to know the program

The program, which usually takes 3-4 months every year, has four main phases:

• Bootcamp: Participants can access theoretical and practical resources to familiarize themselves with the competition format and methodology. They can also get in touch with mentors (industry experts and community alumni), participate in theybinars etc.
• Individual Competition: Participants will compete for 48 hours. The objective is to solve as many cybersecurity challenges as possible and send as many correct answers as possible to reach the top of the leaderboard. At this stage, participants evaluate their performance on an individual level and see what knowledge needs to be improved.
• Team-Based Competition: In cybersecurity, soft skills such as communication and teamwork are just as important as technical skills. This phase allows participants to form teams of up to 3 members with complementary knowledge to solve exercises in different areas of cyber security for 48 hours. There is one important twist: teams can be formed with their colleagues from the same educational institution. In this way, the premises to create local communities is created.
• Individual Report: Participants receive a report of their progress for the entire program. This can be used to improve their future skills or show their results during a recruiting process.

Why is this a good practice?

The program is hosted every year in the first half of the year and UNbreakable do not plan for this to stop anytime soon. There have been four organized seasons and a fifth one is currently in progress. Throughout these seasons, a total of three bootcamps have been conducted, and there is an ongoing fourth one. Approximately 50 mentors have been actively involved in guiding the participants.

In terms of content, the program has provided around 150 exercises and labs to the participants. Moreover, every year the the library of educational resources is also improved by introducing new themes and previous year’s exercises. These are part of eight training modules that cover various topics and skills.

 The number of participants is continuously growing as the program progresses.

The program has managed to establish connections with 35 universities and 75 high schools, with representatives from these institutions being involved in the program during 2022. Moreover, out of the 41 counties in the region, the program has consistently managed to have representatives from 39 to 40 counties each year. Moreover, UNbreakable plans to replicate the program in other countries when they find the right partners.

Simbioza Mobiln@ – a mobile classroom on wheels – aims to increase digital skills and competencies among the elderly, focusing in particular on those living in remote and rural areas and actively helping them to become “fearless” users of ICT services, tools, which consequently increases their social inclusion and active participation in society. With the implementation of Simbioza’s model of intergenerational cooperation through volunteering, the project also enhances digital skills among youth and other social groups.

Get to know the initiative

Slovenia has one of the most rapidly ageing populations not only in Europe but also in the world. Although Slovenia has relatively well-developed digital infrastructure (at the level of Digital Frontrunners), only 55% of the population of Slovenia aged between 16 and 74 have at least basic digital skills, which is below the European average (DESI Index), and the elderly are one of the most vulnerable groups, who are finding it particularly difficult to cope with the digital transformation of society.

Simbioza Mobiln@ is not only an answer to bridging the gap between the elderly and digitalization but also first and foremost aims to help the elderly how to use ICT technologies. Digital empowerment enables them to have a higher quality of life, be more independent, informed, and, above all, be more socially included in society. The purpose of that is to provide the elderly a glimpse into the new (future) technologies through the empirical, educational, informal, and interactive experience in order to help them to overcome their fear of using the technologies, which are already available to them. Simbioza Mobiln@ also introduces new flexible forms of learning in an innovative learning environment that supports the development of digital skills among the elderly. Besides free-of-charge ICT workshops, individual counselling and assistance (on the spot), additional service for support is available to them through the Simbioza’s Magda app.

The organisations participating in the project are united within the Simbioza Community, which includes 205 different organisations from all statistical regions of Slovenia (primary and secondary schools, homes for the elderly, other NGOs), as well as many other Slovenian organisations which are not part of the Simbioza Community.

Why is Simbioza Mobiln@ a good practice?

Simbioza Mobiln@ is the first of its kind in Slovenia and in wider region with its latest digital education initiatives, enables the transfer of knowledge in the use of ICT tools and services to the elderly, especially to those who do not have access to knowledge providers or non-formal educational institutions in the field of ICT. Through a classroom on wheels that goes beyond the traditional “four-walled” classroom, Simbioza Mobiln@ reaches out especially to the elderly living in remote areas, thereby contributing to bridge the ICT education gap between urban and rural areas and the gap between Slovenia’s elderly population and the unstoppable progress of technology in general, by enabling the contact with modern technology and raising the awareness of the benefits of the use of ICT tools and services. Besides the execution of different ICT workshops (on the spot) by Simbioza’s staff and local volunteers from the Simbioza Community, the vehicle is also equipped with interactive technologies in the field of entertainment, communication, health, everyday life, etc.

Simbioza’s Magda app is the first mobile application for elderly in Slovenia, which among others includes Magda’s classroom, where various educational materials for independent self-learning and the adopting of new digital skills are available to them, also free of charge. The learning materials are the result of many years of work Simbioza’s experts in the field of digital literacy of the elderly and are also equipped with illustrative video guides, quizzes etc. They have upgraded the mobile app Magda with 30 learning contents (video guides) and 30 quizzes and the app has currently 5200 active users.

Although Simbioza Mobiln@ was launched during the turbulent period of the COVID-19 epidemic, they have executed 143 workshops in the duration of 754 educational hours for 2.506 elderly participants. In addition, they have also executed 125 face-to-face activities for the elderly in a duration of 750 educational hours for 6.412 elderly across Slovenia. In the implementation of project activities, 325 volunteers from all 12 statistical regions in Slovenia were involved.

The project is an illustrative example of the great significance of NGOs in responding quickly and successfully, even in unexpected circumstances (COVID-19), to two of the key challenges of the modern world – a longlived society and digital transformation. In this context, the project places at its core one of the most vulnerable groups, the elderly. Through an innovative approach in giving them access to digital knowledge carriers it gives them the opportunity to become fearless users of ICT.

Simbioza Mobiln@ in 2023

Although the project officially ended on the 31. December 2022, Simbioza Mobiln@ continues to operate successfully. In the period from January 2023 to May 2023, it has carried out 35 visits across Slovenia in which more than 750 participants (elderly, volunteers from local communities) participated in the activities. By the end of 2023, at least 100 more visits are planned, which are estimated to involve at least 2.500 participants.

Moreover, the initiative has been recognized by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of the Republic of Slovenia, which, based on the results of the mobile unit, is considering implementing more mobile units to provide training in digital competencies to the elderly. Simbioza Mobiln@, as an example of good practice, can certainly be a starting point and a foundation for implementation in a broader context, i.e. in societies facing the same or similar societal challenges

The Informal School of IT was launched in Romania in 2013, and since then it has created the opportunity for more than 15,000 graduates to find professional orientation related to jobs in the IT industry.

The School provides students with mentors with strong technical background and vast professional experience, a flexible and easy to adopt learning schedule, and technical educational programs adapted and kept up to date with the latest market requirements and trends.

The courses calibrated to the current market needs, the flexible schedule, the access to the community of experienced mentors, the soft-skill sessions, and the technical mentorship and coaching sessions represent a set of good practices to support graduates to move forward in their potential IT professional paths.

On the side of the students, this informal process mixing training, coaching, and mentoring, facilitates graduates to approach a career in the IT industry and to acquire sufficient technical skills to carry out a technical job interview successfully. At system level, The Informal School of IT has become a bridge that connects the educational system and the labor market. All courses are aligned with specific needs of IT companies and include both soft skills and career training sessions, for a complete learning experience. The impact can be easily observed throughout the entire IT market in Romania, with the School’s learning programs helping to address the ever-growing need for IT specialists and creating a new recruitment channel for employers.

Furthermore, The Informal School of IT experience has proven that learning digital skills is not dependent on age, gender, previous studies, professional experience etc. Students come from a variety of industries (HORECA to arts, banking, theology, sales, sociology, tourism, and so on) and there is no age limit to sign up. The only condition for enrolling is the knowledge of Romanian, since students can access courses online, from anywhere in Romania or even the world.

The initiative was launched in Cluj-Napoca in 2013, and then expanded to 6 more of the biggest IT hubs in Romania (Bucharest, Iași, Timișoara, Brașov, Craiova, and Sibiu) and to the Republic of Moldova, taking the established good practices developed in Cluj-Napoca to all these new locations. Additionally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, all the courses were moved online, making the School even more effectively accessible to all Romanian speakers passionate about IT.