Stage
The GISEC Global stage
Finalist teams present live at Dubai Exhibition Centre — in front of the jury and the visitors of the largest cybersecurity event in the Middle East.
Registration is open · UAE · 2026
School of Cyber Defence CTF 2026
The national cybersecurity competition for university students in the UAE. Build a team of up to five, analyse a live incident, design a defensible solution, and stand behind it in front of people who do this for a living — on the GISEC Global stage.
Registration until 3 September 2026 Final — 18 September 2026 · GISEC Global · DEC Teams of up to 5 studentsPrize pool over AED 20,000
Under the patronage of
Dubai Electronic Security Center
DESC · Government of Dubai
Organised & delivered by
Tech Firm Technology LLC
UAE national cybersecurity company
About the championship
School of Cyber Defence is a national cybersecurity competition for university students in the UAE, held under the patronage of the Dubai Electronic Security Center and organised by Tech Firm. It culminates in a live final on 18 September 2026 at GISEC Global, Dubai Exhibition Centre — the largest cybersecurity event in the Middle East.
This year the competition returns in a team format, built around the work cyber defenders actually do: analysing a live incident, building a defensible solution, and standing behind it in front of practitioners. No prior competition experience is required — just a team ready to work on a real problem.
The UAE's digital economy is growing faster than the talent pipeline that has to protect it. School of Cyber Defence exists to close that gap — a realistic proving ground for students, direct exposure to practitioners, and a visible path into the profession.
First edition · GISEC Global 2025
0+ applications from the country's leading universities
0 students went through the qualification rounds
0 days of qualification rounds at GISEC Global 2025
Why take part
What your team walks away with
This is not a textbook quiz. You work on a problem close to the real thing, you are judged by people who do this every day, and it ends on a stage in front of the industry.
Mentoring
Mentors before the final
Between the announcement and the final itself, every finalist team works with mentors on the solution and the pitch.
Feedback
Judged by practitioners
Every case receives independent evaluations from industry experts — real feedback on your work, not just a score.
Prize pool
Over AED 20,000
Shared among the winning teams and awarded at the ceremony on 18 September.
Timeline
From registration to the GISEC stage
Five steps over two weeks. Right now only one of them is on you: register your team before 3 September.
- 01Until 3 September
Register & verify
Apply with your student document. Organisers verify every applicant manually and confirm your team before Stage 1 opens.
Manual review - 02Until 6 September · online
Stage 1 — Online qualification
Five themed blocks, one per teammate: network defence, threat management, system security and incident response. Server-side timers, autosave, and forward-only answers.
Server-authoritative - 037–11 September · online
Stage 2 — Case & jury review
Pick a topic, analyse the full scenario, build your own solution and submit it as a PDF of no more than five pages. Every case gets independent expert evaluations.
PDF · 5 pages max - 0414 September
Finalists announced & mentoring
The jury selects the five strongest teams and announces them publicly. Until the final, each team works with mentors to sharpen its solution and prepare for the stage.
5 finalist teams - 0518 September · offline · GISEC Global
Stage 3 — Offline final
Finalist teams present live on stage at Dubai Exhibition Centre and answer the jury's questions in real time. The jury scores from their phones as it happens, and winners are announced at the award ceremony.
Live pitch + Q&A
What you will actually do
The skills each stage tests
Stage 1
Network defence
Segmentation, access control, and reading what is happening inside a network before it turns into an incident.
Stage 1
Threat management
Identifying and prioritising threats, and telling noise apart from what genuinely needs escalation.
Stage 1
System security
Hardening, vulnerability management, and the decisions that make an environment harder to attack.
Stages 1 & 2
Incident response
What you do in the first hour: containment, investigation, communication — then turning that into a written solution.
Eligibility
Who can join
- University students from anywhere in the UAE
- Teams of up to 5 students
- One university may field more than one team
- No prior competition experience required
- Computer science, engineering, information security and related disciplines
- A student document — verified manually by the organisers
What you need to register
- A team of up to 5 students, including you
- A student document for every team member
- Ten minutes to fill in the registration form
After you apply, the organisers review the application by hand and confirm your team before Stage 1 opens on 3 September.
Register your teamFAQ
Questions students usually ask
Yes. No prior competition experience is required. The competition is open to students of computer science, engineering, information security and related disciplines.
Up to 5 students. Stage 1 has five themed blocks — one per teammate — so a full team splits the work naturally.
Yes, each university may field more than one team.
A team of up to five and a document proving that each member is a student. Organisers review every application manually before Stage 1 opens.
You pick a topic, analyse the scenario, build your solution and submit it as a PDF of at most five pages. Every case receives independent expert evaluations.
Finalists are announced on 14 September and then work with mentors until the final. On 18 September you present live on stage at GISEC Global, Dubai Exhibition Centre, and take the jury’s questions.
3 September 2026 — after that date applications are no longer accepted.
Last year event
Highlights from the previous edition
The offline final and award ceremony on the Dark Stage at GISEC Global: university teams, a jury of industry experts, a live scoreboard and the crowning of the champions.
Partners
Industrial Partners
Gold Partners - Silver Partners
