Princess Sumaya University Honors Winners of Cybersecurity Competition for Schools

Amman, Apr. 25 (Petra) – Acting on behalf of Her Royal Highness Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan, the Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Princess Sumaya University for Technology, Marwan Jumaa, presided over a ceremony to honor the winners of the inaugural “Cyber Warriors” competition for schools.

The event, organized by the National Center for Cybersecurity in collaboration with the university, saw the participation of specialists from various entities. The “Cyber Warriors” competition aimed to empower school students interested in cybersecurity, enhance their skills, and provide them with opportunities to explore new technologies, thereby boosting their confidence in cybersecurity knowledge.

Targeting students aged 12-18, the competition attracted 253 students both male and female who advanced to the final stage from 68 teams representing 24 government and private schools across the Kingdom. The participation rate stood at approximately 61% for males and 39% for females.

Bassam Maharmeh, the center’s director, underscored the competition’s significance in investing in and developing the cybersecurity skills of school students, especially those talented in “ethical hacking.”

He highlighted the center’s decision to host a separate competition for school students this year to focus on this crucial category and nurture their talents with long-term investments, stressing the necessity of partnerships with national and educational institutions to achieve these goals.

Maharmeh noted that the center had trained over 800 students from 20 schools across the Kingdom on “ethical hacking” challenges to prepare them for the competition.

Dr. Wijdan Abu Al-Haija, the university president, emphasized the competition’s role in equipping school students with advanced cybersecurity skills, fostering knowledge exchange with professionals, and promoting digital awareness and safety.

Abu Al-Haija reiterated the university’s commitment to supporting innovation, enhancing students’ technical skills, and serving society through advanced educational programs and platforms dedicated to innovation and creativity, a vision closely monitored by Princess Sumaya.

The ceremony concluded with Jumaa honoring the winning teams: “Jubilee 1” from Jubilee School secured the top spot, followed by “Yarmouk 2” from Yarmouk Model School in second place, and “Excellence Warriors 1” from King Abdullah II School for Excellence branch in Mafraq in third place.

Sponsors and partners, including Future Tech as the gold sponsor, IT Security and Satios as silver sponsors, Hayan as the bronze sponsor, Light Space as the technical partner, DC Technology as the technical support partner, and Al-Mamlaka News Channel as the media partner, were also recognized for their contributions.

//Petra// AJ
25/04/2024 16:22:24