CyberWatch West Resource Center

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Keeping computers and information systems secure is a critical challenge. Business, industry, and government need well-prepared technicians who can prevent, detect, and investigate cybersecurity breaches. The growth of cyber-threats has created a need for many more workers who have cybersecurity knowledge and skills. To address this national challenge in education and workforce development, the CyberWatch West Resource Center will assist colleges around the nation with the development and improvement of educational programs in cybersecurity. This Advanced Technological Education (ATE) resource center will build on the foundation that has been laid by the CyberWatch West ATE regional center (NSF Awards DUE-1104278, DUE-1361636, and DUE-1500375), the Catalyzing Computing and Cybersecurity in Community Colleges (C5) project (NSF Award DGE-1548315), and the National Security Agency/Department of Homeland Security "Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense National Resource Center" (CNRC) at Whatcom Community College.The CyberWatch West Resource Center will support colleges that want to develop or enhance their cybersecurity education programs and strengthen the cybersecurity workforce through four interrelated efforts: (1) Expand participation in the Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense National Resource Center program through mentor-mentee training for two-year and four-year institutions. This work will directly complement the NSA-funded CNRC at Whatcom Community College. (2) Catalog and disseminate, through an online repository, resources that strengthen cybersecurity courses and curricula in higher education, including instructional modules developed under a previous NSF-funded project. (3) Expand business/industry-academic partnerships nationwide and build regional cybersecurity communities that engage business/industry with cybersecurity faculty and students. (4) Disseminate resources that aid faculty mentoring and professional development, and student development. Through these efforts, the center aims to: promote the standardization of cybersecurity content in college programs; build awareness of community college cybersecurity programs and the qualifications of students who earn an associate degree or certificate in a community college program; address the national need for cybersecurity workers across all sectors, including government, defense, healthcare, and commerce; diversify the talent pool from which employers can draw their cybersecurity workforce.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.