UWF Center for Cybersecurity awarded $2M grant to expand Florida cybersecurity training program

The University of West Florida Center for Cybersecurity has been awarded a $2 million grant to expand the UWF Florida Cybersecurity Training Program, a statewide initiative that provides free cybersecurity education for eligible Florida government personnel. The program is funded by the Florida Legislature through the Cyber Florida: FirstLine initiative.

“This program will equip Florida’s government workforce with the latest knowledge and skills to defend against evolving cyber threats,” said Dr. Eman El-Sheikh, associate vice president at the UWF Center for Cybersecurity. “By integrating AI and emerging technologies, we’re not just meeting today’s challenges, we’re building stronger, smarter defenses and strengthening Florida’s cyber resilience.”

The free training program is open to state, county, city, K-12, higher education, tribal and territorial government personnel. By expanding course offerings, the program supports Florida’s efforts to enhance cybersecurity readiness at all levels of government.

“This investment in cybersecurity training is vital to protecting Florida’s infrastructure and communities,” said UWF Interim President Manny Diaz Jr. “Through this program, UWF continues to play a leading role in building a highly skilled cyber workforce and serving as a catalyst for innovation and resilience in our state.”

From September 2025 through June 2026, the Center will launch 41 new online courses designed to strengthen Florida’s cyber workforce and help protect critical state and local systems from cyber threats. The expanded schedule introduces new industry certification prep courses, advanced technical training and interactive one-day cyber skills exercises with a focus on leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance cybersecurity.

Among the courses offered are:

• Certification Prep and Certificate Courses: EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker, CompTIA SecurityX and EC-Council Generative AI for Cybersecurity.
• Technical Courses: AI and Machine Learning for Cybersecurity, Governance and Risk Management with AI, Threat Intelligence with AI and Virtualization, and Docker Technologies for Cyber Resiliency.
• Cyber Skills Exercises: Cybersecurity Incident Response and Resilience Planning for Government Leaders, Essential Cyber Defenses, Applications of Generative AI in Cybersecurity and Prompt Like a Pro: A Hands-On Guide to AI Prompting.

Applications for fall courses are now open, and eligible government personnel may register at uwf.edu/cybertraining.