UWF Center for Cybersecurity and AI earns national recognition for outstanding contributions to the field

May 06, 2026

The University of West Florida placed third in the 2025 CAE-CD Community Outreach Award Competition, which is given by the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity Community to a CAE-Cyber Defense designated institution. Dr. Eman El-Sheikh, associate vice president for the UWF Center for Cybersecurity and AI, also received an award for Outstanding Contributions to the CAE Cyber AI Community and Nation. These awards were announced at the 2026 CAE in Cybersecurity Symposium held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 28-30.

Six people stand side-by-side on stage. Person in the middle holds a plaque award. American and other flags flank each side.

“National recognition for both our Center for Cybersecurity and AI and Dr. Eman El-Sheikh speaks to the extraordinary leadership and innovation happening at UWF,” said UWF President Manny Diaz Jr. “Between community outreach, workforce development and helping shape the future of cybersecurity and AI education across the globe, UWF is not only preparing tomorrow’s cyber leaders but helping define the future of the field.”

This is the fourth consecutive year UWF has placed in the top three out of nearly 500 universities and colleges designated as NCAE-C institutions across the U.S. that were eligible for the award. The CAE-CD Community Outreach Award was established to showcase CAE-designated institutions that are going above and beyond and recognize their outstanding community outreach initiatives.

The UWF Center for Cybersecurity and AI received the CAE-CD Community Outreach Award for its outstanding community outreach activities that promote cybersecurity awareness, education and research including:

Workforce Development Programs: The UWF Center for Cybersecurity and AI offered numerous workforce development programs, including free training for veterans, transitioning military, first responders and government personnel through the CyberSkills2Work Program and Florida Cybersecurity Training Program.
GenCyber Pathways to Cyber Summer Camps: The UWF Center for Cybersecurity hosted two GenCyber camps and year-round activities for rising seventh- through 10th-graders. The students received an introduction to the various aspects of cybersecurity work focused on the six GenCyber Concepts: confidentiality, integrity, availability, defense in depth, keep it simple and think like the adversary.
UWF Night of Cyber: The UWF Center for Cybersecurity and AI promoted cybersecurity awareness, careers, educational programs and resources to students and the community. Night of Cyber explores various cyber career opportunities for high school and college undergraduate students and adult learners. Students hear from industry professionals and academic instructors about the opportunities and paths to achieve their dreams.
Faculty Development Workshops: The UWF Center for Cybersecurity and AI hosted workshops for faculty from across the nation to help them integrate cutting edge topics and high impact learning practices into their programs and prepare the future AI-enabled cybersecurity workforce.
Other Community Engagement: Throughout the year, UWF and Center personnel participated in numerous community events, conferences and media interviews to share their expertise and enhance cybersecurity awareness and education.

“Cybersecurity and AI are transforming every sector of society, and preparing the future workforce requires innovation, collaboration and national leadership,” said Dr. Eman El-Sheikh, associate vice president for the UWF Center for Cybersecurity and AI. “These recognitions reflect UWF’s contributions to national efforts that advance cyber-AI education, strengthen workforce pipelines and expand opportunities for communities across Florida and our Nation.”

Dr. El-Sheikh was one of five faculty members nationwide to receive an award for Outstanding Contributions to the CAE Cyber AI Community and Nation. Her contributions include helping develop the CAE Cyber AI program framework, which defines the requirements for CAE institutions to develop AI-Cyber or Secure-AI programs of study, co-developing an AI and ML Fundamentals course that will be publicly available, serving on the CAE Cyber AI Community of Practice Steering Committee, and organizing a Cyber AI session at the CAE in Cybersecurity Symposium.

For more information on the UWF Center for Cybersecurity and AI, visit uwf.edu/cyberai.