Cybersecurity Workforce Development Programs

Information Assurance Education

"There is an unprecedented demand for highly-skilled practitioners capable of building security into new and existing networks, assessing security on a real-time basis as new vulnerabilities are identified and disclosed, and acting as front-line cyber defenders across various industries and government agencies." ~ Council on CyberSecurity "President Obama has identified cybersecurity as one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation, but one that we as a government or as a country are not adequately prepared to counter." ~ The White House

Free Courses & Tutorials: Educause SANS Cyber Aces Online Tutorials Tutorials Point Internships: Sandia National Laboratories  Los Alamos National Laboratory Additional Resources: Careers Council on Cyber Security CyberPatriot Competition Global CyberLympics Malware Analysis National Youth Cyber Education Program National Cybersecurity Initiative US Cyber Challenge

Cybersecurity is a new multi-disciplinary field involving processes and technologies deployed to protect critical infrastructures and data from vulnerabilities or attacks. With the cyberspace expansion, businesses, government agencies, educational institutions and even individuals are increasingly affected by cyber-risks. 

The Cybersecurity Consortium, which was established by U. S. Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration’s Minority Serving Institutions Partnerships Program (MSIPP), allows participating schools to open doors to DOE sites and facilities to student members of the consortium. This partnership will strengthen and expand Minority Serving Institutions’ capacity and research in DOE/NNSA missions. It will also increase participation of MSI faculty in DOE/NNSA activities. MSI faculty will be able to participate in collaborative research, technical workshops, expert panel reviews/studies, and competitive processes.

The University of Virgin Islands, with the support of the Consortium, is dedicated to build a K-20 cyber education pipeline in the Virgin Islands by training teachers and undergraduates as well as educating secondary students. The main objective of the cyber consortium is to educate and train the nation’s future cybersecurity experts. The cybersecurity consortium will focus on the critical need to fill the growing demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals in the U.S. job market, while also diversifying the pipeline of talent in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. Through the consortium, UVI students, faculty and the community will be able to receive training on cutting edge technologies and processes usually only available at national laboratories. Accessing these assets will permit our students to acquire specialized knowledge and skills critical in order compete for a growing demand in the field.

The initiative is funded from the Minority Serving Institutions Partnerships Program of the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration with the support of Sandia National Laboratories and the Cybersecurity Workforce Pipeline Consortium Partners.