MSc AI student represents the University of Malta at EuroSSIG 2026

Favour Onyedikachi Umeh, an MSc Artificial Intelligence student within the Faculty of ICT, represented the University of Malta at the European Summer School on Internet Governance, EuroSSIG 2026, held in Meissen, Germany.

EuroSSIG brought together fellows and experts from academia, civil society, government, the technical community and the private sector to examine current challenges in Internet governance. The programme covered topics including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital rights, data protection, technical standards, critical digital infrastructure and multistakeholder cooperation.

A major component of the programme focused on the future of the Internet Governance Forum following the confirmation of its permanent mandate within the United Nations system. Fellows worked in multidisciplinary groups to propose a future vision, mission, values, strategic pillars and objectives for the IGF.

Drawing on his background in maritime affairs, AI, and cybersecurity, Favour contributed to discussions on protecting submarine fibre-optic cables. These cables carry much of the world’s Internet traffic and raise important questions concerning maritime law, national jurisdiction, private ownership, resilience and international cooperation.

Another highlight of EuroSSIG 2026 was a series of fellow-led presentations on Artificial Intelligence. Favour presented on “Artificial Intelligence – A Business Perspective,” sharing practical examples of how AI can support research, decision-making and business operations. He also highlighted the importance of data protection, cybersecurity, human oversight, fairness and accountability.

During his presentation, Favour shared how the University of Malta promotes the responsible use of AI through the use of an AI Journal for assignments. This approach encourages students to document and reflect on how AI tools are used in their academic work, supporting transparency, responsible practice and academic integrity.

His participation complements his MSc research on improving maritime cyber-risk awareness through AI-supported incident analysis, scenario generation and a retrieval-augmented question-and-answer system based on more than 800 curated maritime cyber incidents.

EuroSSIG 2026 provided an important opportunity to represent the University of Malta, exchange ideas with an international community and demonstrate the value of connecting Artificial Intelligence with law, policy and cybersecurity.