The Korkyt Ata Kyzylorda University delegation participated in the Teaching Staff Training Week and Consortium Coordination Meeting for the period of June 15-19, 2026, organized within the framework of the Erasmus+ KA2 Capacity Building in Higher Education project “Development of Innovative Graduate Educational Program in Cyber Security for Digital Labor Market of Central Asia (Cyber4CA)”. The events were hosted by the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Telecomunicación (ETSIT), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Spain, one of Europe's leading engineering and technological universities.

The Training Week brought together representatives of higher education institutions, governmental organizations, and project partners from Spain, Belgium, Italy, Romania, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. The consortium includes Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain), University of Antwerp (Belgium), Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Italy), National University of Science and Technology POLITECHNICA Bucharest (Romania), International Information Technology University (Kazakhstan), Tashkent University of Information Technologies, Osh State University, Kyrgyz State Technical University, and other leading academic institutions and ministries participating in the Cyber4CA project.

The Cyber4CA project aims to strengthen higher education capacity in Central Asia by developing an innovative master's degree program in cybersecurity that meets the rapidly evolving demands of the digital labor market. The project focuses on curriculum modernization, the creation of advanced CyberLabs, the enhancement of teaching methodologies, the strengthening of international academic cooperation, and the improvement of the quality of cybersecurity education across Central Asian universities.

The Korkyt Ata Kyzylorda University was presented at the international event by:

Nurbek Kongyrbayev, Head of the Educational Program “Computer Science”, Associate Professor, PhD;

Asselkhan Adranova, Associate Professor of the Educational Program “Computer Science”, PhD;

Temirbolat Kenshinbay, Head of the Working Group for International Projects and Scholarship Programs, Institutional Coordinator of the Cyber4CA Project, Candidate of Philological Sciences.

Day One topic: European Experience in Cybersecurity Education

The program officially commenced with opening remarks delivered by representatives of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, the European Union Regional Coordinator, the Cyber4CA Project Coordinator, and representatives of the Ministries of Higher Education of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

Participants attended comprehensive presentations on the Master's Program in Cybersecurity offered by Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. European experts introduced the curriculum structure, research activities, practical training model, cooperation with governmental agencies and industry, and the university's approach to educating highly qualified cybersecurity professionals. The delegation also visited the state-of-the-art laboratories and research facilities of ETSIT, gaining valuable insights into modern educational infrastructure and laboratory environments supporting cybersecurity education.

Day Two topic: Innovative Teaching Methods in Cybersecurity

The second day focused on advanced teaching methodologies and practical approaches to cybersecurity education. Specialists from the National University of Science and Technology POLITECHNICA Bucharest presented modern approaches to teaching Cloud Security and Internet of Things (IoT) Security, including the application of Federated Learning and hands-on laboratory exercises for anomaly and cyberattack detection.

A dedicated practical session addressed phishing awareness, where participants analyzed real phishing emails, examined email headers, practiced threat identification techniques, and discussed incident response procedures. Additional sessions explored international best practices in designing cybersecurity curricula, defining graduate competencies, and developing competency-based educational programs aligned with current industry needs.

Day Three topic: Designing CyberLab Infrastructure

The third day emphasized practical training and laboratory development. Experts from Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Italy) shared their experience in cybersecurity education for intelligent systems and introduced the university's innovation ecosystem supporting interdisciplinary research.

Participants engaged in practical laboratory exercises, including cybersecurity experiments, cryptography demonstrations, and the development of institutional CyberLab concepts. Interactive workshops enabled participants to design laboratory infrastructures tailored for master's degree programs in cybersecurity. The day concluded with group presentations, during which participants presented their proposed CyberLab models, discussed implementation priorities, identified potential challenges, and exchanged recommendations for establishing modern cybersecurity laboratories in their home institutions.

Day Four topic: Cyber4CA Consortium Coordination Meeting

On 18 June, project partners participated in the Cyber4CA Consortium Coordination Meeting, during which progress across all project work packages (WP1-WP6) was reviewed.

Discussions covered project management and financial coordination, analysis of cybersecurity-related study programs, development and implementation of master's curricula, establishment of CyberLabs, quality assurance mechanisms, dissemination strategies, and long-term project sustainability. Representatives of Central Asian partner universities shared updates on curriculum modernization activities and discussed future collaborative actions to ensure the successful implementation of project objectives across the region.

Day Five topic: Advanced Cybersecurity Laboratory Development

The final day focused on developing advanced cybersecurity laboratory infrastructures. Experts from the University of Antwerp (Belgium) presented modern laboratory environments for cloud computing, edge computing, IoT systems, virtual networking, container technologies, monitoring platforms, and software-defined infrastructures.

Participants designed laboratory modules suitable for integration into master's degree courses, discussed educational assessment methods, documentation standards, quality assurance procedures, and accreditation requirements. The program concluded with an interactive workshop dedicated to developing laboratory-based educational modules for Central Asian universities, followed by the official Certificate Award Ceremony recognizing participants' successful completion of the Teaching Staff Training Week.

Benefits for Korkyt Ata Kyzylorda University

Participation in the Erasmus+ Cyber4CA Training Week represents an important milestone in the internationalization strategy of Korkyt Ata Kyzylorda University. The knowledge and experience gained during the program will contribute to the development of an innovative master's degree in cybersecurity, the implementation of modern practice-oriented teaching methodologies, the establishment of a CyberLab at the university, and the expansion of international academic and research cooperation with leading European higher education institutions.

The outcomes of this international training will strengthen the university's capacity to educate highly qualified cybersecurity specialists equipped with the competencies required by Kazakhstan's digital economy and the wider Central Asian labor market. Furthermore, participation in Erasmus+ Cyber4CA reinforces the university's commitment to implementing European educational standards, promoting academic mobility, and enhancing the quality of higher education through international collaboration.

The Korkyt Ata Kyzylorda University Media Center