On 21 April 2026, YuYing Mak, Project Officer at Virtual Routes, delivered the opening address at a Cybersecurity Hackathon hosted by Drohobych Ivan Franko State Pedagogical University (DSPU) in Ukraine, one of Virtual Routes’ partner universities in the Google.org Cybersecurity Seminars Program.
The three-day hackathon, running from 21 to 23 April, brings together high school students from across the Lviv region, with university students from the Cybersecurity Seminars program involved in organising and running the event. Teachers from local schools as well as professors from DSPU were also in attendance.
Speaking virtually, YuYing opened the event with a welcome address and an introduction to Virtual Routes and the Google.org Cybersecurity Seminars program, now active across more than 20 universities in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Her remarks highlighted the growing demand for cybersecurity professionals across Europe, noting that 66% of cybersecurity roles are filled from non-cybersecurity backgrounds – a reminder that the field is open to anyone with curiosity and commitment, regardless of their starting point.
Over the course of the three days, hackathon participants present projects, take part in practical tasks, compete in final rounds, and attend expert-led workshops. The hackathon aims to develop cybersecurity awareness, critical thinking, and teamwork skills, putting real cybersecurity challenges in the hands of the next generation. As part of the Seminars program, hackathon participants also gain access to internships, mentorship from industry professionals, and opportunities to engage in hackathons to collaboratively address real cybersecurity challenges.
Events like this hackathon are a testament to what the Cybersecurity Seminars program makes possible: real, hands-on engagement with cybersecurity at the community level, reaching students from various stages of education and opening doors they may not have known were there. For Virtual Routes, DSPU’s initiative is exactly the kind of local energy and creativity the program is designed to support, and we look forward to seeing where it takes the students next.
