The Faculty of Economics and Business Administration (FEBA), together with international partners, will implement a project "United for Cyber Safety—Up-Skilling High School Communities for Protecting Students, SHIELD" within three years in the field of vocational education and training. Assoc. Prof. Savina Mihaylova-Goleminova is a project manager on behalf of FEBA, Sofia University.

Project objectives:

• Enhance the cybersecurity skills of secondary school teachers, principals, and psychologists to address the challenges posed by increasing cyber threats effectively.
• Address the lack of knowledge and resources in schools regarding cybersecurity by providing targeted training, tools, and support services.
• Assist high school staff in developing and implementing cybersecurity policies that align with best practices and protocols for handling sensitive information and responding to incidents.

Project results and outcomes:

• Secondary school staff should have a higher level of cybersecurity awareness and preparedness, which will enable them to better protect students in the digital realm.
• A safer digital environment for students, with reduced risks of cyber threats such as cyberbullying, invasion of privacy, and exposure to harmful content.
• The SHIELD project serves as a blueprint for similar initiatives across the European Union, promoting scalability and replicability in addressing cybersecurity challenges.

Project partners:

• CYRIL AND METHODIUS UNIVERSITY IN SKOPJE (Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia) www.ukim.edu.mk – leading partner
• FEBA, SOFIA UNIVERSITY ST KLIMENT OHRIDSKI (Sofia, Bulgaria) https://www.uni-sofia.bg/index.php/eng/the_university/faculties/faculty_of_economics_and_business_administration
• UNIVERSITETI NDERKOMBETAR PER BIZNES DHE TEKNOLOGJI UBT SHPK (Prishtina, Republic of Kosovo) ubt-uni.net
• EKONOMIKAS UN KULTŪRAS AUGSTSKOLA (EKA University of Applied Sciences) (Riga, Latvia) eka.edu.lv

The planned project implementation period is 36 months – 01.09.2024-31.08.2027.

The European Commission funds and supports the project "United for Cyber Safety—Up-Skilling High School Communities for Protecting Students—SHIELD" through the Erasmus+ program KA220-VET - Cooperation Partnership in Vocational Education and Training.