Engaging K-12 Teachers to Help Build a Cybersecurity Workforce Pipeline

该项目解决了北卡罗来纳州的皮埃蒙特三合会地区对网络安全专业人员日益增长的需求，该地区是由温斯顿-塞勒姆，格林斯伯勒和高点等城市组成的广阔的城乡社区。该项目将重点加强所需的学术能力，以扩大网络安全专业人员的人才管道，以满足整个12个县地区的商业和行业需求。当地的中学和高中教师将参加福赛斯技术社区学院（FTCC）的16个学分的课程，这将使他们准备将网络安全原则融入课堂。课程完成后，教师将拥有成为双录取高中生的有效教师所需的知识和技能，这将导致准备并有动力报名参加为期两年的网络安全课程的学生人数增加。教师们还将准备获得网络安全认证，这将使他们有资格担任FTCC的兼职教师，并将提高学院提供中学后和劳动力相关的网络安全指导的能力。首先是增加皮埃蒙特三合会地区网络安全专业人员的数量。其次是增加中学和中学后网络安全教师的数量和知识水平。第三是提高皮埃蒙特三合会地区网络安全劳动力的多样性。该项目预计将从其努力中看到若干成果。一是使FTCC能够提高对网络安全第一原则和实践的认识。另一个是为创新的网络安全教育建立持久有效的伙伴关系。此外，学院设想保持人才管道充满受过良好教育，多技能，工作准备的毕业生谁将能够帮助满足预计到2022年全国180万工人短缺。该项目将利用北卡罗来纳州教育工作者可用的选项，将高中生的双招生机会与社区学院授予的学分自动转移无缝连接起来。通过与企业和行业领导者的合作，教师将对跨学科的网络安全的作用有更深入的了解。该项目由先进技术教育计划资助，该计划侧重于为推动国家经济的先进技术领域培养技术人员。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project addresses a growing need for cybersecurity professionals in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, an expanse of urban and rural communities anchored by the cities of Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point. The project will focus on bolstering the academic capacity required to expand the talent pipeline of cybersecurity professionals to serve business and industry needs across the 12-county region. Local middle school and high school faculty will be enrolled in a 16 credit-hour program at Forsyth Technical Community College (FTCC) that will prepare them to integrate cybersecurity principles into their classrooms. Upon program completion, the teachers will have the knowledge and skills they need to be effective teachers of dual-enrolled high school students, which will result in an increase in the number of students who are prepared and motivated to enroll in a two-year program in cybersecurity. The teachers will also be prepared to earn cybersecurity certifications that will qualify them to serve as adjunct faculty at FTCC and will increase the college’s capacity to provide post-secondary and workforce-related instruction in cybersecurity.Three goals guide the project team's efforts. First is to increase the number of cybersecurity professionals in the Piedmont Triad region. Second is to increase the number and knowledge level of cybersecurity faculty at the secondary and post-secondary levels. Third is to improve the diversity of the cybersecurity workforce in the Piedmont Triad region. The project expects to see several outcomes from its efforts. One is to enable FTCC to increase awareness of cybersecurity first principles and practices. Another is to develop lasting and effective partnerships for innovative cybersecurity education. Additionally, the College envisions keeping the talent pipeline filled with well-educated, multi-skilled, work-ready graduates who will be able to help satisfy a projected national shortage of 1.8 million workers by 2022. The project will leverage options available to North Carolina educators to seamlessly link dual-enrollment opportunities for high school students with the automatic transfer of credit awarded by community colleges. Through project’s collaboration with business and industry leaders, teachers will develop deeper insights into the role of cybersecurity across academic disciplines. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that 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.