Unlock Cyber Secrets: Apply for NMU’s Free Summer Camp

Unlock Cyber Secrets: Apply for NMU’s Free Summer Camp

• Free Educational Opportunity: Northern Michigan University’s Cyber Defenders Summer Camp is free for selected high school students.
• Hands-On Experience: Students work through practical cybersecurity exercises on campus.
• Diverse Curriculum: Topics include coding, the Internet of Things (IoT), ethical hacking and cybersecurity careers.
• Promoting Interest in Cyber Careers: The camp aims to steer more teens toward security careers.

Why NMU is running the camp

Employers need more cybersecurity workers, and many students never get an early look at the field. Northern Michigan University (NMU) is trying to change that with its free Cyber Defenders Summer Camp for high school students. Applications were due May 16, 2025.

What the camp offers

The basics

The 2025 camp was open to students entering grades 9 through 11 in the fall. It ran on NMU’s Marquette campus from July 13 to 18, 2025, with some virtual learning in June beforehand. Selected students paid nothing, which opens the door for teens whose families couldn’t afford a paid program.

Learning by doing

The camp is built around practice. Students learn a concept and then try it themselves, in exercises designed to look like the work a security analyst does on an ordinary day, so they come away knowing how attacks happen and how defenders respond.

What students study

The camp introduces the fundamentals of cybersecurity. Topics include coding, the Internet of Things (IoT) and ethical hacking, plus a look at career paths. That mix gives students a broad view of the field and the different jobs in it.

Ethical hacking

Ethical hacking is one of the highlights. Students learn how networks get broken into. Then they learn how to fix them.

Pointing teens toward security careers

The camp aims to get teens excited about cybersecurity. That’s the point. Working on real problems helps them picture themselves in a field where demand for skilled workers is expected to keep growing for years.

How to apply

NMU’s Cyber Defenders camp gives high school students a free, hands-on start in cybersecurity. Interested students should check NMU’s Upper Peninsula Cybersecurity Institute page for future camp dates and application deadlines.

John King, CISSP, PMP, CISM

John King currently works in the greater Los Angeles area as a ISSO (Information Systems Security Officer). John has a passion for learning and developing his cyber security skills through education, hands on work, and studying for IT certifications.