Reinvigorating Information Technology Education with Cybersecurity

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In partnership with Los Alamos National Lab, Los Alamos County, and other employers, the University of New Mexico-Los Alamos is building a robust two-year cybersecurity program that both increases the number of highly-skilled technicians for the region's employers and provides opportunities for retraining and certifying existing workers. For this program, the investigators are adapting cybersecurity curricula developed by the Cyber Security Education Consortium (CSEC), an NSF ATE center of excellence. Activities include:* providing rich internship and hands-on classroom experiences that deepen students' understanding of complex IT systems and their security needs;* creating a pipeline to IT careers for high school graduates and college students;* exciting students' interest in IT and cybersecurity through events such as a "Capture the Flag" challenge and mini-technology workshops;* creating seamless transfer opportunities from the two-year program to four-year programs;* providing opportunities for existing IT workers to build their skills and achieve certifications in cybersecurity; and* providing professional development for two-year college faculty and high school technology teachers.To improve retention, the project is emphasizing student support through a career development facilitator, a redesigned Tutor Center, and an equity awareness program. To reach Hispanic and Native American students better, the project is utilizing contacts with educational organizations tied to those constituencies and showing those students local job opportunities that allow them to stay close to family.Other features of the project include integrating problem-solving skills with hands-on projects to prepare students for the workplace, establishing a successful internship/co-op program, expanding and enriching online components with smart-classroom technologies, and testing an arrangement for small institutions to share courses.The investigators are sharing the program design, curriculum, and sustainability concepts with partner community colleges across New Mexico, and helping train both community college partners and high school teachers in the curriculum and hands-on activities through combined workshops.