Expansion of the CyberWatch West Resource Center

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Keeping computers and information systems secure is a critical need and a major challenge. To meet this need, 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 the knowledge and skills needed to protect digital infrastructure. In 2018, NSF funded the CyberWatch West Resource Center as an Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Resource Center to support cybersecurity education at two-year colleges across the nation (NSF Award DUE-1800589). In 2019, the funding level for new Resource Centers was raised to $1.65 million (NSF 18-571). With this new award, the CyberWatch West Resource Center will be fully funded as an ATE resource center, enabling the Center to expand the scope of its activities. Specifically, the CyberWatch West Resource Center will expand its mentoring efforts to help more colleges build and strengthen their cybersecurity programs. The Center will also develop additional curricular resources and conduct additional educational activities to inform students about careers in cybersecurity and match them with employers.The expanded Center will undertake four interrelated efforts that complement and/or expand the previously funded activities: (1) provide mentoring, technical assistance, and leadership training to educators and prospective grantees who want to implement and improve cybersecurity education programs; (2) convert, consolidate, and disseminate cybersecurity curricula (including modules developed through the Catalyzing Computing and Cybersecurity in Community Colleges project, NSF Award DGE-1548315) in accessible formats that integrate with common online learning management systems; (3) partner with business and industry to provide credit-bearing cybersecurity training modules that meet the needs of current employees in small businesses, fit into college curricula, and are aligned with the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education Framework's work roles; and (4) host virtual career fairs and operate an online job board, which will broadly disseminate employment opportunities and directly connect students with prospective employers. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program, which focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy.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.