The National Academy for Cyber Skills has been launched: over 50 entities have signed the Bucharest Declaration

The National Coordination Center for Cyber Security (NCC-RO) launched today, October 21, 2026, the National Academy for Cyber Skills, within the Bucharest Cybersecurity Conference (BCC2026).

The Academy is an initiative developed by NCC-RO, in partnership with the National Directorate of Cybersecurity (DNSC) and the Ministry of Education and Research, with the institutional support of the CYBERINT National Center. The Academy aims to connect skills needs with cybersecurity training opportunities in Romania, through collaboration between authorities, academia, research and industry.

The initiative was presented by Ana-Maria Bușoniu, Director General of NCC-RO, in front of over 100 relevant stakeholders from authorities, academia, research and industry.

“Romania has many valuable but fragmented initiatives. The National Academy of Cybersecurity Competences creates the common framework for cooperation in which schools, universities, authorities and industry unite their resources for a real and lasting impact on society as a whole.” said Ana-Maria Bușoniu, Director General of NCC-RO.

The Director General of NCC-RO thanked the more than 100 stakeholders present at the launch, as well as Mrs. Alina Ujupan, Director of the Cabinet of Mrs. Roxana Mînzatu, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, for the video message sent on the occasion of the launch of the Academy.

A joint project of authorities, education and industry

Opening the event, Dan Cîmpean, Director of the National Directorate of Cyber Security, said: “It is an honor for DNSC to be among the founding organizations of The National Academy for Cyberskills, along with NCC-RO and partner institutions. It is an initiative through which we aim to support young people to discover cybersecurity and prepare for a career in this field. Romania has a shortage of over 5,000 cybersecurity specialists, a shortage that we cannot cover only through automation and artificial intelligence. We need juniors and we need the education system, the business environment and the public sector to invest in their training.”

“The academy comes exactly when we need it. In recent years we have invested heavily in the IT infrastructure of schools: laptops, interactive whiteboards, connectivity. Now we need to take the next step and invest in people. A well-equipped school, but without cybersecurity skills, is a vulnerable school. That is why our priority is for teachers and

students to have current knowledge, adapted to today’s real risks.” – Sorin Deca, Ministry of Education

European support for the initiative

Luca Tagliaretti, Executive Director of the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC), said: “The launch of the National Academy for Cyber Skills and the signing of the Bucharest Declaration is an important step towards providing coherent, structured and professional responses to the cybersecurity skills shortage in the European Union. We congratulate NCC Romania and all partners for their excellent work and look forward to continuing the collaboration.”

Fabio Di Franco, ENISA’s Cybersecurity Skills Officer, stressed: “The initiative reflects a common ambition: to develop the people and skills that Romania and Europe need to remain cyber-secure in an increasingly digital world.”

From an industry perspective, Philip Stupak, ISC2 representative, said: “Cybersecurity certification is not a cost, but an infrastructure. It gives employers, authorities and citizens the confidence that professionals have the tested and validated skills needed to protect our digital society.”

Directions of the Academy

The initiative coordinated by NCC-RO together with institutional partners aims to:

· National mapping of existing cybersecurity initiatives, programs and resources, in order to have a clear picture of the supply and needs still uncovered.

· Active involvement of institutions and organizations by assuming the Bucharest Declaration on Cyber Skills and Resilience.

· Co-creating, together with the entire community, the best interventions that Romania can develop for cybersecurity education and training, from school to profession.

The mapping exercise of existing initiatives, programs and resources in the field has been launched on the www.ncc.gov.ro website. NCC-RO invites all organizations to register their initiatives, in order to have a clear picture of what exists and the needs still uncovered.

Over 50 founding members

Over 50 entities have already signed the Bucharest Declaration for Cyber Skills and Resilience, becoming the founding members of the Academy’s advocacy community.

This is the beginning of a process through which NCC-RO co-creates, together with the entire community that assumes the Bucharest Declaration, the best interventions that Romania can develop. The conclusions of the consultation will form the basis of the Academy’s operational plan, and in parallel NCC-RO will apply to identify the most efficient sources of funding.

The consultation took place in three working groups. NCC-RO would like to extend special thanks to their rapporteurs – Cristian Driga (DNSC), Andrei Avădanei (CyberEDU) and Ligia Deca (SNSPA) – for the way they led the consultation and synthesized the conclusions, as well as to all partners and participants for their involvement in the development of cybersecurity competences in Romania.

The project funded by Grant Agreement no. 101227737 is supported by the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre. Funded by the European Union. However, the views and opinions expressed belong solely to the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the European Union or the European Cybersecurity Industrial, Technology and Research Competence Centre (ECCC). Neither the European Union nor the funding authority can be held liable for them.