Awards and Recognitions

Center Awards

2025 EC-Council Academia Innovator of the Year

Awarded for leadership and innovation in cybersecurity education. It is based on several key criteria, including excellence in cybersecurity education, continuous program development and innovation, student, alumni and community engagement and advocacy, EC-Council certification exam testing and results, experiential learning and extracurricular engagement, and EC-Council event participation and involvement.

UWF Center for Cybersecurity awarded EC-Council 2025 Academia Innovator of the Year

2024 CompTIA Cybersecurity Pathways Champion

This award recognizes CompTIA partners for their outstanding contributions to cybersecurity training and those who propel the next wave of cybersecurity talent.

UWF Center for Cybersecurity earns prestigious CompTIA award

2024 CAE-CD Community Outreach Award - 2nd Place

For outstanding community outreach activities that promote cybersecurity awareness, education, and research.

UWF earns national recognition for cybersecurity outreach initiatives

2023 CAE-CD Community Outreach Award - 2nd Place

For outstanding community outreach activities that promote cybersecurity awareness, education, and research.

UWF earns national award for cybersecurity outreach initiatives

2022 CAE-CD Community Outreach Award - 1st Place

For outstanding community outreach activities that promote cybersecurity awareness, education, and research.

UWF receives top honor for cybersecurity community outreach initiatives

2020 National CyberWatch Center Innovations in Cybersecurity Education Practices (Honorable Mention)

Awarded to National CyberWatch members recognized as leaders in information security education innovation.

National CyberWatch Center Announces Winners for 2020 Innovations in Cybersecurity Education Program

Team Awards

2025 Team Awards

• Dr. Eman El-Sheikh: Largest Grants Award (UWF Faculty Awards)
• Dr. Eman El-Sheikh: Best Paper Award – ACM Annual Conference on Cybersecurity and Information Technology Education (ACM SIGCITE 2025)
• Dr. Eman El-Sheikh: Cybersecurity Woman Leader of the Year and Woman of the World Finalist (2025)
• Dr. Hossain Shahriar: Research Hall of Fame: One Million Dollar Club (UWF Faculty Awards)
• Dr. Elizabeth Rasnick: First-time Grant Recipient (UWF Faculty Awards)
• Dr. Elizabeth Rasnick: 2025 Career Champion (UWF Office of Career Development & Community Engagement)
• Ms. Sajida Shabanali: 2025 Career Champion (UWF Office of Career Development & Community Engagement)
• Mr. Guy Garrett, M.S., M.B.A.: Largest Grants Award (UWF Faculty Awards)

2024 Team Awards

• Dr. Eman El-Sheikh: UWF Million Dollar Research Hall of Fame – $25M Level (2024)
• Dr. Eman El-Sheikh: Cybersecurity Woman Leader of the Year and Woman of the World Finalist (2024)
• Dr. Eman El-Sheikh: GISEC Global Educator of the Year (2024)
• Dr. Elizabeth Rasnick: 2024 Academic Instructor Circle of Excellence (EC-Council)