UK Cyber Leaders Challenge 2026 - Request For Support

Join in support of the UK Cyber Leaders Challenge and help participate in shaping the future of cyber

The UK Cyber Leaders Challenge empowers university students to develop leadership skills such as critical thinking, strategic analysis, operating in uncertainty, prioritising risk, leading multidisciplinary teams and effective communication. Students play the role of advisors to the UK government during an escalating cyber incident with national security implications. They are assessed on their analysis of the situation, the courses or action they propose and the effectiveness of their presentations. Regional Qualifiers will be in early February 2026 before holding the National Finals at the BT Tower in London in March 2026.

This year they have scaled incredible to a total of 114 teams, comprising of more than 450 students, drawn from across all four home nations. It’s shaping up to be the strongest and most impactful year yet!

The UK Cyber Leaders Challenge is looking for volunteer supporters who are able to participate as judges and do some mentoring of students at the Regional Qualifiers. These are to be held in Gloucester (3rd Feb), Edinburgh (5th Feb) and Manchester (11th Feb). No prior preparation required, and it is aimed to be a good fun and enjoyable day for all.

To help UK Cyber Leaders Challenge to continue to keep the competition free and inclusive for students, we are looking for sponsors who can help us cover our operating costs. Whilst it fantastic to see the growing demand and interest in the competition from the students, it has also significantly increased our expenditure and outlay. Such as with the size of our Supporting Access Fund, required for those students that are hindered from participating due to travel and/or accommodation costs. Several sponsorship packages are available and the team would be happy to work with any interested parties to tailor a package that would suit.

Getting involved with the UK Cyber Leaders Challenge is a brilliant networking opportunity with peers across industry and government. It provides you an opportunity to meet with, inspire and shape the career paths of students at the start of their cyber security career. For organisations it provides opportunities to:

• De-risk your hiring process with access to a pool of already-quantified talent
• Provide access to an extensive network of senior industry and government champions, creating opportunity to generate leads for future sales and partnerships
• Demonstrate alignment with UK government values, showcasing CSR efforts and supporting DEI initiatives