🎉 🤝 The first edition of the continuing education program for women to become cybersecurity experts at the eurobits women academy | ewa ended with a festive certificate ceremony for all graduates.
🎓 📚 “But this is only an intermediate step!” emphasized Christine Skropke, Chairwoman of the Board of eurobits e.V., who opened the event. “We are convinced that we are on the right track and are determined to make the program a permanent fixture!” This was supported by patron and sponsor Mona Neubaur, Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection, and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, in her emotional and convincing plea for more women in IT security, but also more women in business as a whole. “Show your teeth!” she advised the female graduates in attendance.
RWTÜV CEO Thomas Biedermann, in his capacity as Chairman of the Board of the RWTÜV Foundation, which provided significant funding for the program, also gave a welcoming speech, as did Marc-Julian Siewert, CEO of secunet Security Networks AG. Both of them also had an encouraging message: “We need you, women, in this important field of the future and are in favor of significantly more diversity!”
🤖 🌐 After the certificates were presented to the ewa graduates, Prof. Dr. Martina Angela Sasse, Chair of Human-Centered Security at the Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security at Ruhr University Bochum, addressed the mood in IT security departments, and among CISOs in particular, in her keynote speech. Her conclusion was also that there is a huge need for female specialists in particular to strengthen teams in many ways.
🚧 💨 The subsequent panel discussion, moderated by Birgitte Baardseth, explored opportunities, prospects, and obstacles for women in the cyber world. Joining her on the podium were Beatrice Huck, ewa graduate, NeoMINT; Evelyn Breitenstein, ewa mentor, secunet; Raik-Michael Meinshausen, partner, Stanton Chase; and Robert Franken, DEIB expert, ConsciousU.
🍹 🌞 Nadine Nagel, the board member responsible for ewa at eurobits, rounded off the event with her closing remarks before everyone got together for some casual networking and making plans for the future in what will hopefully soon be a much more female-dominated field of cybersecurity.
👥 🙌 The RWTÜV Foundation would like to thank the graduates and wish them every success in the IT security industry!