On 22 May 2026, Virtual Routes attended the launch of the second edition of the Google.org Cybersecurity Seminars Program at Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma (UCBM), one of two universities in Italy participating in the program alongside the Università degli Studi di Milano. The event brought together students, faculty, industry representatives, and institutional partners for a morning of presentations, discussions, and a keynote from Google.
YuYing Mak, Project Officer at Virtual Routes, delivered a presentation on the program, its reach, and the resources available to students. Her remarks highlighted the growing cybersecurity workforce gap in Europe – an estimated 424,000 unfilled roles – and the opportunities this creates for students from a wide range of backgrounds.
In the first cohort, UCBM trained 75 students, over a third of them women, drawn from 16 universities across Italy and abroad. Students benefited from over 400 consulting hours and full expenses covered for those coming from outside Rome. End-of-program evaluations reflected an exceptional level of satisfaction, with an overall average of 4.55 out of 5.0 across all dimensions assessed, including teaching, content, organisation, and EDI.
João Victor Dal Mas, an alumnus of the first cohort, spoke about his experience of the program. João came to cybersecurity from a legal background and from Brazil, and his participation is a tangible demonstration of what the program makes possible: that cybersecurity is open to anyone with curiosity and commitment, regardless of where they start. He noted that the strong practical nature of the UCBM program was particularly valuable in shaping his experience.
A highlight of the event was a keynote from Royal Hansen, Vice President of Engineering for Privacy, Safety and Security at Google. Royal’s talk, Security in the Age of Autonomy: Lessons from the Front Line of Google, offered students a timely perspective on where AI is heading and what that means for privacy and security.
The event also featured a roundtable on the importance of collaboration in cybersecurity, featuring Nunzia Ciardi (Vice Director General, National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN)), Ivano Gabrielli (Director of Service, Postal Police), and Donatella Proto (Director, Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy), moderated by Selene Giupponi of Women4Cyber. Women4Cyber also awarded a scholarship to Nicole Bovolenta, a student from the first cohort, in recognition of the importance of building a more diverse cybersecurity workforce.
Last but certainly not least, Domitilla Benigni, President of Women4Cyber and Chief Executive Officer of ELT, offered an encouraging note on the broader landscape, highlighting growing government investment in cybersecurity in Italy over the past year. A focus by Unindustria, the local business association, on supporting cybersecurity of SMEs also underlines the program’s growing ties with the Italian business community and the role students can play in strengthening cybersecurity capacity among local organisations.
Virtual Routes looks forward to supporting UCBM’s second cohort as they develop their skills and begin working with local community organisations over the coming months.
