Increasing the Number and Diversity of Cybersecurity Technicians in Rural North Carolina

美国劳工统计局预计，未来十年，对网络安全技术人员的需求将增长30%以上。网络安全课程的入学和毕业人数无法满足这一不断增长的需求。因此，美国将没有足够的国内培训的网络安全技术人员来满足工业、商业、政府和其他部门的需求。该项目旨在满足区域和国家对熟练网络安全技术人员的关键需求。 它将通过与当地教育机构的高中职业和技术教育计划，当地企业和行业合作，以增加训练有素的网络安全技术人员的数量。将创建课程途径，允许学生在完成行业认可的网络安全证书的同时获得应用科学学位的学分。与当地企业和组织的实习将为学生提供将他们在课堂上学习的技能付诸实践的机会。该项目的目标包括：（1）培养熟练，高素质和职业准备的网络安全技术人员;（二）为信息技术教师提供有效教授网络安全和优化学生学习所需的网络安全知识和技能，保留;（3）从网络安全领域代表性不足的社区招募、留住和毕业人员，包括女性。对项目的评估将包括对项目在实现拟议目标和成果方面的有效性的形成性和总结性评估。该项目的成果有可能促进对农村社区学生作为STEM领域学习者面临的挑战的了解，特别是在信息技术和网络安全领域。 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。

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the need for cybersecurity technicians will grow more than 30 percent over the next decade. The number of students enrolled in and graduating from cybersecurity programs is not at a pace that can meet this growing demand. As a result, the nation will not have enough domestically trained cybersecurity technicians to satisfy the needs of industry, business, government, and other sectors. This project aims to addresses critical regional and national needs for skilled cybersecurity technicians. It will do so by collaborating with the local education agency’s high school Career and Technical Education program, local businesses, and industries to increase the number of trained cybersecurity technicians who are ready for work. Program pathways will be created that allow students to earn credits toward a degree in applied science while completing an industry-recognized certificate in cybersecurity. Internships with local businesses and organizations will provide students with opportunities to put the skills they are learning in the classroom into real-world practice.The goals of this project include: (1) producing skilled, highly qualified, and career-ready cybersecurity technicians; (2) equipping information technology faculty with the cybersecurity knowledge and skills required to effectively teach cybersecurity and optimize student learning and retention; (3) recruiting, retaining, and graduating individuals from communities that are underrepresented in cybersecurity, including women. Evaluation of the project will include both formative and summative assessment of the efficacy of the program in meeting the proposed goals and outcomes. The outcomes of this project have the potential to advance knowledge about challenges that students in a rural community face as learners in STEM fields, particularly in the information technology and cybersecurity fields. 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.