As the Community Manager for Howest Campus Stack, I often get asked what the secret is to building a strong, engaged student tech community. The answer is actually pretty simple: give curious minds a place to gather, some pizza, a shared challenge, and get out of their way.
That is exactly the philosophy behind our weekly Cybernights.
Every single Thursday evening, Campus Stack opens its doors to all IT students for an open, collaborative, and entirely optional evening dedicated to diving deep into the world of cybersecurity. Whether you are a first-year student just learning how to navigate a Linux terminal or a third-year deep into specialized GRC and engineering tracks, Cybernights has become the heartbeat of our student community.
What Exactly is a Cybernight?
Cybernights aren’t traditional, rigid lectures. We spend enough time in classrooms during the day. Instead, Thursday nights are designed to be informal, hands-on, and driven by what the students actually want to explore.
On any given Thursday, you’ll walk into the room and see:
- Capture The Flag (CTF) grinds: Groups of students huddled over laptops, cracking cryptography puzzles, exploiting web vulnerabilities, and climbing leaderboards together.
- Skill Sharing: A student who just discovered a cool new tool or defensive tactic spontaneously taking over a screen to show everyone else how it works.
- Peer-to-Peer Mentorship: Seniors helping freshmen debug their code, understand complex networking concepts, or prepare for exams.
- Industry Prep: Discussing the latest real-world cyber attacks, compliance shifts (like NIS2), and global threat trends over pizza and drinks.
Building More Than Just Technical Skills
From a Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) perspective, we often talk about the “human element” in security. Usually, that means human error. But at Campus Stack, we look at the human element as our greatest asset.
Security is a team sport. No single analyst or engineer can know everything. By bringing students together outside of regular class hours, we are building a culture of collaboration, collaborative problem-solving, and continuous learning. The connections our members are making on Thursday nights are the exact networks they will rely on when they become the IT and security professionals of tomorrow.
Come Join the Stack!
If you are a Howest IT student and you haven’t made it out to a Cybernight yet, consider this your official invitation. You don’t need to be a cybersecurity expert to show up—you just need to be curious.
To the regulars who show up week after week, bring the energy, and make my job as Community Manager an absolute blast: thank you. You are the reason Campus Stack is thriving.
When: Every Thursday evening
Where: Howest Campus (Keep an eye on the Campus Stack Discord for room updates!)
Who: All IT students welcome. Bring your laptop, your questions, and your appetite for learning.