Surfshark Launches €100,000 Cybersecurity Advocacy Fund for University Projects

The initiative is designed to bridge academic research and real-world impact, pairing financial support with direct collaboration from Surfshark's in-house experts. Rather than funding its own products, the company says it looks for ideas emerging from classrooms, labs, and creative spaces.

The first submission cycle, which opens in September 2026, gives priority to anti-scam work. TechRadar cited independent research from the Global Anti-Scam Alliance and Feedzai estimating that around $442 billion is lost to scams worldwide each year, while Norton data points to nearly 174 scam attempts every second.

Surfshark describes the fund as "an investment in expertise that sits outside our own walls," according to Gabriele Sinkeviciute, the company's head of product. The initiative grew out of "Bot or Not?", a Malmö University student project that found nearly half of participants could not reliably tell bot-written comments from human ones.

To be eligible, applicants must be actively enrolled university students, employed faculty such as professors or researchers, or representatives of an officially recognized university group. Submissions are open worldwide, but pitches must be written in English.

The fund backs three types of work: creative advocacy such as art installations or interactive campaigns that make digital threats tangible; academic research including papers and studies on cybersecurity risks; and technological ideas from prototypes to early-stage tools that Surfshark's experts can help refine. Selected projects share in the annual pot of up to €100,000, distributed across multiple initiatives rather than given to a single winner. Beyond money, teams gain technical guidance, industry insight, and support throughout development.

The fund runs in two cycles per year. September submissions are reviewed during an October selection period, and February submissions during a March one. Each window stays open for the full month. Every pitch is reviewed by several Surfshark experts against four criteria: relevance to cybersecurity awareness, clarity of the proposal, originality of the approach, and potential impact. Applicants should read the full terms and conditions before submitting, then pitch their project by email to advocacyfund@surfshark.com.

The fund follows other Surfshark advocacy efforts, including partnerships with Amnesty International and Internews.