Kingston University played host to the UK’s first student-led cybersecurity conference, bringing together students, academics and industry experts from across the country.
Cyberscape 2026, which took place in the University’s award-winning Town House building, was organised by Kingston Tech Society in partnership with the National Cyber & Forensics Alliance (NCFA Global), saw attendees explore the technologies, challenges and opportunities shaping the future of cybersecurity.
The inaugural conference featured a collaboration of more than 25 universities and 300 students, representing a national student-led effort to bridge the gap between education, community and industry. Students also developed practical skills, discovered opportunities and connected directly with organisations and experts.
The event was opened by Course Leader of Cyber Security and Digital Forensics BSc (Hons) at Kingston University Dr Deepak GC, President of Kingston Tech Society Ansh Padam and CEO and Founder of NCFA Global Pedro Coelho and featured several keynote speakers from experts in the cybersecurity sector.
Topics included the evolving battle between hackers and humans, the importance of diversity and inclusion across the profession, AI accessibility, cyber careers, the political dimensions of cybersecurity technology and hacking in the age of AI.
Live hacking demonstrations, hands-on workshops, industry stalls and networking were also part of the day-long conference which concluded with a competitive Capture the Flag competition. This event was a practical exercise with individuals or teams challenged to find hidden text strings (flags) by exploiting, decoding, or defending vulnerable programs, websites and systems.
The conference was held at Kingston University just a few months after the institution was just one 16 universities to be awarded Gold Standard for its Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Education (ACE-CSE) by the UK government’s National Cyber Security Centre. Dr Deepak GC, Co-Director of Kingston ACE-CSE, said encouraging emerging cyber leaders to collaborate with industry, the local community and researchers was a key objective for Kingston’s ACE-CSE.
“It was a fantastic collaborative event discussing key topics from AI security to the role of women in the cybersecurity industry,” he said. “We also explored recent incidents like the compromise of freezer software by cyber attackers which resulted in significant food wastage. Cyber security is now more important than ever, particularly for food security, global warming and sustainable development.”
Pedro Coelho said it was important to nurture students’ ideas and connect them with key industry leaders. “It’s great to give students, those in industry and academics the space to work together, develop solutions and use the interpersonal skills that perhaps they didn’t know they had to address some of the biggest cybersecurity challenges that face the world.”
