The U.S.-Egypt Partnership for Young Leaders in Cybersecurity (USEP4YLC) is a leadership development program for students and young professionals from Egypt and the U.S.

USEP4YLC will deepen participants’ understanding of cybersecurity policy, cultivate relationships between these future policy leaders, and generate recommendations for collaboration on cybersecurity and cyber workforce development.

The University of Chicago Harris Cyber Policy Initiative (CPI) leads this program in collaboration with the American University in Cairo.

Objectives

The USEP4YLC program will:

  • Provide participants with a deeper understanding of current cybersecurity and workforce development issues, policies, and opportunities for international economic development;
  • Foster the generation and development of creative recommendations for improving collaboration between the U.S. and Egypt on cybersecurity-related issues;
  • Provide opportunities for program participants to engage with and learn from subject matter experts from Egypt and the U.S. in order to develop a deeper understanding of the perspectives and goals of the U.S. and Egypt on cyber-related issues and the importance of the U.S.-Egypt security partnership; 
  • Establish formal and informal channels of communication between program participants in order to cultivate strong professional and personal relationships between future policy leaders of Egypt and the U.S.; and 
  • Establish strong connections between institutes of higher education in Egypt and the U.S. for the purposes of future collaboration and partnership. 

Activities

USEP4YLC activities include monthly group meetings; individual research and writing; final report presentation and publication; and social engagement activities via social media and video conferencing.

Monthly program meetings will take place online on the fourth Saturday of each month, from 12:00-3:00 PM ET | 6:00-9:00 PM EET.

The culmination of the program will be a final presentation and publication of the program report, the result of original research and policy analysis by program participants. The report will be formally presented to a panel of distinguished officials, policymakers, and experts from Egypt and the U.S.

Timeline

Program activities will take place between January-July 2021. 

Requirements

All program participants are required to fulfill the following obligations, which may constitute 10-12 hours each month:

  • Actively participate in monthly program meetings;
  • Engage in online social engagement activities;
  • Conduct individual research and writing assignments; and 
  • Participate in writing and presenting a final group report.

Participants and Eligibility

The program cohort will consist of 30-40 participants who are either current policy graduate students or young policy professionals from the United States and Egypt.

Candidates for the program are not required to have a previous background in cybersecurity or computer science; rather, the ideal group of participants will have backgrounds and expertise in a variety of policy fields, creating a diverse cohort with complementary skills and knowledge.  

Application

Complete the USEP4YLC application form to apply.