CTF Academy
From training to real-world CTFs
CTF Academy is an initiative that helps pwn.college students transition from self-paced training to real-world Capture the Flag (CTF) competitions. While pwn.college builds a solid foundation in binary exploitation and other security concepts, CTFs are fast-paced, team-based challenges that demand quick thinking, creativity, and adaptability under pressure. In many competitions, the first team to solve a challenge (first blood) gains a major advantage – so speed and collaboration often matter more than crafting the perfect solution.
To bridge the gap between individual learning and live competition, CTF Academy pairs seasoned CTF players with beginners for hands-on, team-based experience. Students participate in real weekend CTFs, where they:
- Transition and test their skills from the classroom to fast-paced, unpredictable scenarios
- Experience the adrenaline of leaderboard battles and race to solve challenges against the clock
- Learn how to communicate and collaborate in high-pressure environments
The program runs on a rotating mentorship model. Each weekend, one of the participating CTF teams takes the lead, providing a small group of mentors who guide students through that competition. These mentors offer real-time support, insights from their own experience, and a deeper understanding of CTF strategy and problem-solving.
CTF Academy brings students into the world of competitive cybersecurity—not as spectators, but as active participants building skill, confidence, and community.
Call for Mentors: Mentorship in CTF Academy is about more than just technical skill – it’s about leadership, community, and giving back to the broader cybersecurity ecosystem.
What it means to be a CTF Mentor
Mentors participate alongside students during CTFs, offering real-time support and guidance. Whether it’s through quick nudges on the forum, answering technical questions, or hopping into a voice call to walk through a screen share, mentors help students navigate the fast-paced world of live competition.
The goal isn’t just to rack up points—it’s to create an environment where students feel supported, challenged, and excited to learn. Great mentors celebrate student wins, encourage experimentation and problem-solving, Step in when students get stuck (but never take over), and recognize and cultivate potential within the team
Mentors are welcome to submit flags, but the real success is watching students earn those solves on their own. In some cases, mentors even discover standout students and extend invitations to join their competitive CTF teams.
Current Mentoring Teams:
L3ak
Shellphish
Frequently asked questions
All CTF Academy activities happen in the pwn.college Discord server, since that is where all the students are. We run all CTF Academy CTFs in this server, and all mentors will receive a special “CTF Sensei” role.
Absolutely. As a mentor, your team can decide which CTFs to help with based on availability. It is completely okay to skip some weekends. That said, we aim to play as many CTFs as possible, and teams will rotate mentoring duties to keep things running smoothly.
We prevent it by keeping mentoring and competing clearly separated. Mentors working with CTF Academy do not play under their own team during the same CTF. All mentoring takes place publicly in the pwn.college Discord server, and mentors are expected not to share any solutions or hints from their team. This setup helps ensure fairness and avoids any form of cross-teaming.
To keep things ethical and avoid any conflict of interest, mentors should pick one role per CTF. You can either compete with your team or mentor with CTF Academy, but not both. Being on both sides during the same competition can create concerns about cross-team collaboration, even if unintentional. Choosing one role helps maintain fairness and transparency. If you are unsure, feel free to reach out and we will work it out together.
We’re always looking for experienced CTF players who want to give back and help grow the next generation of competitors!
If you’re interested in mentoring with CTF Academy, start by filling out our mentor interest form. From there, we’ll follow up with details on upcoming CTFs, what to expect as a mentor, and how to get plugged into our team rotation.
Whether you’re repping a top-tier team or mentoring solo, your experience can make a big impact. Join us in building a more collaborative and inclusive CTF community—one weekend at a time.
CTF Academy is currently open to those who meet one of the following criteria:
- Earned a green or blue belt on pwn.college
- Completed a significant portion of Cryptohack
New to cybersecurity?
Start with pwn.college and work through the orange and yellow belt levels to build your foundational skills. Once you reach the green belt, you’ll become eligible to join CTF Academy.
If you’re already progressing through Cryptohack and have reached an advanced level, you’re eligible too! Just fill out this form to get started.
What happens after I’m eligible?
If you’re in the pwn.college Discord, you’ll receive invites to weekend CTFs and gain access to the #ctf-academy channel. There, you’ll learn from experienced mentors and sharpen your skills in real competitions.
Not quite eligible yet? Keep training—we may open CTF Academy to orange and yellow belts in the future!
The American Cybersecurity Education Institute is made possible through the generous support of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) under the University Partnerships for Tactical AI and Cyber (UPTAIC) seedling, and through continued collaboration with the Department of Defense, which helps pwn.college continue to advance cybersecurity education and training.