MERIT Hybrid Industry Engagement Workshop on Cybersecurity

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MERIT Hybrid International Industry Engagement Workshop on Cybersecurity: Advancing Skills, Innovation, and Strategic Cooperation Across Europe

MERIT Hybrid International Industry Engagement Workshop on Cybersecurity gathered on November 21, 2025, leading specialists from academia and industry to discuss some of the most pressing cybersecurity challenges facing Europe today. This year’s event offered a rich blend of technical insights, operational experiences, and strategic policy perspectives, illustrating how diverse stakeholders are working together to reinforce resilience in an increasingly complex digital landscape.

Cybercor Moldova: Hands-on education and a growing cybersecurity community

The workshop opened with an in-depth presentation by Marius Dumitrascu of the Cybercor Institute, Technical University of Moldova. He described Moldova’s advances in digitalisation and the parallel need to develop a strong cybersecurity workforce capable of addressing emerging threats. Cybercor was established a year ago specifically to accelerate this development by offering students intensive, hands-on training experiences that go beyond traditional university curricula.

Marius Dumitrascu explained how Cybercor integrates real technologies, real threats, and real projects into the learning process. Students participate in workshops, internships, and collaborative programmes with the National Cybersecurity Agency, law enforcement agencies, and international universities such as TalTech. One notable initiative he highlighted was a student-developed cyber range platform, which offers a simulated environment for practising cybersecurity scenarios while introducing learners to the full lifecycle of software development and secure operations.

Throughout his talk, he emphasised the importance of building a genuine cybersecurity community—one in which universities, SMEs, public authorities, and private companies collaborate closely. He noted that SMEs often underestimate cyber risks and lack the resources to address them, making academic-industry cooperation not just beneficial but essential.

Cybersecurity in system-of-systems environments: Insights from the CYSOS project

The next speaker, Kenneth Lind from RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, shifted the discussion toward cybersecurity in complex system-of-systems environments, especially within global supply chains. He presented the CYSOS Project (Cybersecurity Policy Options to Mitigate Risks in System-of-Systems), which examines how interconnected networks of actors create a unique risk landscape, particularly when organisations with their own systems and processes integrate to achieve shared capabilities. Kenneth Lind introduced the audience to the project’s emerging cybersecurity framework, designed through a combination of academic research and practitioner feedback. He explained that the framework covers orchestration models, governance mechanisms, resilience strategies, secure data sharing, technology architectures, monitoring capabilities, and collaborative processes. What distinguishes the CYSOS approach, he noted, is its grounding in real-world validation through the Virtual Watchtower, a global operational community of more than sixty partners involved in maritime and land-based logistics.

He underscored that cybersecurity in system-of-systems environments is inherently a shared responsibility. Trust must be established from the moment a new actor joins the ecosystem, and it must be reinforced continuously through transparent communication, coordinated risk assessment, and adherence to common standards. Kenneth Lind concluded by stressing that the project’s outcomes will remain relevant beyond its formal end date, with future work expected either through continuation of CYSOS or integration into the Virtual Watchtower programme.

Securing critical water infrastructure: Immersive and action-oriented training through ATHENA

A particularly compelling contribution came from Sebastiaan Schuemie of Rijkswaterstaat, who presented the ATHENA Project, an ambitious EU-funded initiative designed to strengthen cyber resilience in the water sector. As Sebastiaan Schuemie explained, the Netherlands is home to an extensive network of critical water management assets—storm surge barriers, pumps, dams, locks, and maritime traffic centres—which are increasingly vulnerable due to digitalisation and remote operation technologies. He highlighted a core challenge: most existing cybersecurity training programmes focus on IT systems, while vulnerabilities in operational technology (OT) environments require very different forms of expertise. ATHENA responds to this gap by offering an immersive training ecosystem built on a combination of e-learning modules, tabletop exercises, and highly realistic virtual reality scenarios. These simulations allow operators to experience cyber incidents in safe but emotionally engaging environments, helping them build both confidence and skill.

Sebastiaan Schuemie explained that ATHENA’s training design is informed by scientific research carried out by its university partners, including NTNU (Norway), TH Ingolstadt (Germany), and TalTech (Estonia). The project also collaborates with several water authorities across Europe and with emergency response organisations such as W-Smart. Its ultimate goal is to produce a multilingual, EU-wide training platform tailored to the needs of water-sector operators and their leadership teams. By emphasising detection, mitigation, communication, and decision-making under pressure, the project places human competency at the centre of critical infrastructure protection.

Funding paths for cybersecurity growth: NCC Romania and EU-level opportunities

The workshop concluded with a strategic and highly practical presentation by Ioana Călărașu, Head of Department at NCC Romania, who outlined the funding mechanisms and support structures now available to organisations seeking to strengthen their cybersecurity posture. She began by introducing the role of the National Coordination Centres, which form part of the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre framework. In Romania, this structure is led by the Romanian Authority for Digitalisation and is tasked with connecting national actors to major EU funding programmes such as Digital Europe and Horizon Europe. Ioana Călărașu presented details of Romania’s forthcoming funding opportunities for SMEs, including a dedicated €4 million budget with grants ranging from €60,000 to €100,000 and 50% co-financing. These funds are intended to help SMEs align with regulatory requirements such as NIS2 and the Cyber Resilience Act, implement secure digital solutions, and improve their overall cyber readiness.

Ioana Călărașu emphasised the importance of community engagement, encouraging Romanian stakeholders to participate in NCC activities, consultations, and upcoming networking sessions, where future funding guidelines will be shaped collaboratively.

A shared commitment to Europe’s cyber resilience

The MERIT Hybrid International Industry Engagement Workshop on Cybersecurity made clear that Europe’s cybersecurity ecosystem is undergoing rapid transformation. Across all presentations, a common theme emerged: cybersecurity is no longer a standalone technical function but a shared societal responsibility that spans education, research, infrastructure, governance, and economic development.

From Moldova’s hands-on training models and Sweden’s system-of-systems research to the Netherlands’ immersive training and Romania’s strategic funding instruments, the workshop showcased a series of interconnected efforts that together form a strong, coordinated approach to cyber resilience.

As MERIT continues its mission to align academic programmes with industry needs and to facilitate cooperation across borders, the discussions from this workshop will serve as an important reference point for ongoing collaboration and innovation in the cybersecurity domain.