The Hostos Technical Education in Cybersecurity (H-TEC) Project

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This project aims to serve the national interest by producing more qualified technicians to meet workforce demands in cybersecurity. Keeping computers and information systems secure is a critical need and a major challenge in business, industry, and government. The growth of cyber-threats has created a need for many more workers who have the knowledge and skills to protect both existing and emerging technologies. To meet the need for well-trained, certified cybersecurity technicians in the New York City area, the Hostos Technical Education in Cybersecurity (H-TEC) project will create an online cybersecurity program leading to industry certifications aligned with federal standards. This innovative curriculum will take a holistic approach, incorporating peer mentoring, regulatory compliance, a law enforcement perspective, and experiential and project-based learning. Because the project is based at a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) with a supermajority of minority students, it also has potential to increase the diversity of the cybersecurity workforce while improving social mobility for the students.The project has two goals: (1) Develop an online, state-of-the-art cybersecurity program, which includes modules that lead to industry certifications and integrate concepts of regulatory and law enforcement compliance and the development of communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. (2) Build a pipeline from neighboring high schools and the college's Continuing Education and Workforce Division to recruit minority students into the program and help diversify the cybersecurity workforce in the New York City area. Seven key activities will frame the project team's efforts. First, is to develop seven online cybersecurity courses that make use of existing high-quality materials and resources available through the ATE centers for cybersecurity education. Second, is to create four learning modules, in collaboration with industry partners, to teach content and hands-on skills that lead to industry certifications. Third, is to embed experiential learning and project-based learning into the new cybersecurity courses in collaboration with industry partners. Fourth and fifth, entail offering workshops on the new courses and modules to faculty and peer leaders and offering workshops and informational sessions to guidance counselors at local high schools, high school juniors and seniors, students just entering the college, and the college's Career Services Office staff. Sixth, is leveraging the well-established Proyecto Access program, which provides year-round enrichment courses, tutorial services, and project-based learning to high-achieving yet economically disadvantaged high school students in STEM disciplines. Seventh, and finally, is to create a pathway to the cybersecurity program for incumbent workers by awarding credit for prior learning to Continuing Education students who complete the CompTIA A+ certification. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) 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.