Building Africa’s Research & Education Cybersecurity Community through technical exchange, operational training, and trusted collaboration.
About the Programme
The Africa Training Initiative (ATI) is WACREN’s flagship technical capacity development programme designed to strengthen the expertise required to operate research and education digital infrastructure across Africa.
As universities and research institutions increasingly rely on digital platforms for research collaboration, digital learning, and open science, the need for skilled engineers capable of deploying and operating complex infrastructure continues to grow.
ATI addresses this need by providing structured training programmes for engineers, system administrators, cybersecurity professionals, and infrastructure operators across the research and education community.
Related WACREN Programme
NREN Academy
ATI complements the NREN Academy, which focuses on leadership, strategy, and sustainability for National Research and Education Networks.
Who ATI serves
→ Network engineers & operators
→ System administrators
→ Cybersecurity professionals
→ Infrastructure operators
Community-Driven Training
ATI follows a collaborative model that brings together technical communities across Africa. Training participants and facilitators come from across the research and education ecosystem.
→ Network Operator Groups (NOGs)
→ Campus network operators
→ DevOps engineers
→ NREN engineering teams
→ Cybersecurity practitioners
→ Open science infrastructure specialists
Partnerships with communities such as NgNOG, GhNOG, and TrustBroker Africa ensure that ATI training remains practical and aligned with real operational challenges.
Nigeria Network Operators Group
Ghana Network Operators Group
Cybersecurity collaboration
Programme host
A detailed description of the ATI programme, including its historical development, training tracks, and operational framework, is available in the programme concept note.