Estonian President visits the NCI Academy
The NCI Academy in Oeiras, Portugal, received a visit on 17 April from Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid.
The NCI Academy, NATO’s newest training centre, is set to open its doors in September 2019. The school will provide expert training on NATO’s advanced IT and cyber systems to more than 4,000 students annually.
The delegation received a general overview of the NATO Communications and Information (NCI) Agency, with particular emphasis on the new Academy, and how it and the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn, Estonia might cooperate and collaborate. NCI Agency General Manager Kevin Scheid outlined the Agency’s role in enabling NATO to perform Article IV (consultation) and Article V (collective defence).
The General Manager praised Estonia’s strong commitment to the Alliance, and noted in particular its role as a leading nation in cyber defence. Considering Estonia’s expertise, the meeting explored ideas like adopting a federated approach between the Estonian Cyber Range and the Academy Cyber Laboratory. In the future, the two could exchange subject matter experts, jointly develop scenarios or align training and education in this domain.
The delegation concluded the visit with a tour of the new Academy, including its laboratories, classrooms and 256-seat auditorium. The Academy’s world-class facilities are located in Oeiras, just 20 km from Lisbon, Portugal’s vibrant capital. This 20 million EUR state-of-the-art project will ensure the Alliance remains at the forefront of technology, and continues to ensure peace and security for nearly 1 billion citizens.
