The Junior Centre Excellence (Centre for Cyber Security and Information and Communication Technologies) is one of the finalists of the Regiostars 2023 competition. The Centre can be found at the Secondary School of Informatics, Postal Administration and Finance in Brno and was supported by the Integrated Territorial Investments tool in the previous period. This year, a record 228 projects entered the Regiostars competition and only 30 of them made it to the final round. Reaching the final of the competition is, therefore, a great achievement.
The Junior Center Excellence allows high school students to practice their skills in the new field of cybersecurity. As part of their education, students prepare to counter hacker attacks and protect information systems. The Junior Center Excellence combines three elements: a new cybersecurity education programme, connecting professionals with students in the CyberCommunity, and training educators. The newly created cloud platform also supports the transfer of information to other schools in the region. The unique centre encourages students to improve their skills in the field of cyber security and such a competitive advantage moves them forward in the job market or further studies. The Junior Center Excellence is unique in the Czech Republic’s high school environment and we are proud of it. The project is part of the integrated solution Czech Cybersecurity Centre.
The Junior Centre Excellence is one of four representatives of the Czech Republic in the Regiostars competition, which is organised by the European Commission to find inspiring projects co-financed by EU funds. The awards are given in six thematic categories to projects that demonstrate new approaches in regional development. The Junior Centre Excellence succeeded in A competitive and smart Europe category along with five other projects. From 14 September, an online public vote will start, with all 30 shortlisted finalists competing across the different competition categories.
The winners will receive international media attention and the opportunity to promote the activities in their region. The selected projects will face each other during EURegionsWeek in Brussels, where they will present their work to a jury and an audience. The award ceremony will take place on 16 November during the INFORM EU conference in Ostrava. The finalists of each category can be found on the competition website.
