The Kick-Off Meeting of the WEM Cyber Project Took Place at Bilişim Vadisi
The kick-off meeting of the WEM Cyber Horizon Europe Project, coordinated by Bilişim Vadisi and launched as of January 2026, was held on 17–18 February 2026 at Go Bilişim Vadisi Istanbul. The three-year project, which will run until 31 December 2028, aims to address Europe’s shortage of cybersecurity experts and the low representation of women in the sector.
The consortium includes a total of 13 partners, five of which are affiliated entities, from Türkiye, Greece, Slovenia, Lithuania, Spain, France, and Belgium. Secromix, SphereTech, Cyberwhiz, Cloudmetrik, and Cyberware (Oninc), cybersecurity companies operating under Bilişim Vadisi, participate in the project as affiliated entities, while Boğaziçi University, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VILNIUS TECH), the University of Maribor, Pompeu Fabra University, the University of Toulouse, Women4Cyber, and UBITECH are among the project partners.
Representatives from Boğaziçi University (Türkiye), Vilnius Gediminas Technical University – VILNIUS TECH (Lithuania), the University of Maribor (Slovenia), Pompeu Fabra University (Spain), Women4Cyber (Belgium), UBITECH (Greece), SphereTech (Türkiye), Cyberwhiz (Türkiye), Cloudmetrik (Türkiye) and Cyberware (Oninc) (Türkiye) attended the kick-off meeting. During the meeting, institutional and team introductions were conducted, and the overall framework of the project, work packages, and the first six-month activity plan were discussed in detail.
Contributing to Europe’s Cyber Future
Within the scope of WEM Cyber, secondments, mentorship programmes, and targeted capacity-building activities for women researchers will be implemented. By strengthening participants’ technical, entrepreneurial, and leadership skills, the project aims to foster a more inclusive and resilient European cybersecurity ecosystem. A total of 37 secondments are planned throughout the project.
WEM Cyber Project as a Strategic Milestone
Erkam Tüzgen, General Manager of Bilişim Vadisi, highlighted the strategic importance of the WEM Cyber Project for the institution, stating that it is the first Horizon Europe initiative coordinated by Bilişim Vadisi. He emphasised that this is not just another project, but rather the opening of a new door, a strong signal, and a statement. Tüzgen emphasised that Bilişim Vadisi has made significant progress, moving from coordinating educational programmes to contributing to Europe’s cyber future. He further stated that Bilişim Vadisi is built on the understanding that real impact emerges when technology meets talent, when trust meets innovation, and when local meets global, adding that WEM Cyber is a concrete reflection of this approach in practice.
Through WEM Cyber, Bilişim Vadisi reinforces its position not only at the national level but also at the European level as an actor supporting talent development in cybersecurity and contributing to the empowerment of women researchers. The project aims to deliver tangible contributions to Europe’s digital resilience through strong international collaborations.
