The University of Charleston, BridgeValley Community & Technical College and Southern West Virginia Community & Technical College have been awarded more than $500,000 in funding from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Advanced Technological Education initiative.
The grant will enable these partner schools to offer a four-course, two-semester Security Analysis (SA) Certificate program to high school students, veterans or military-connected students in rural or economically depressed southern counties.
Dr. Adam Beatty, Associate Professor and Undergraduate Program Director of Cybersecurity at the University of Charleston will collaborate with Bob Hayton, Chair of the Computer and Technology Department at BridgeValley and Matt Payne, Southern’s Information Technology Program Coordinator on the project.
“We have a great opportunity to train our West Virginia citizens to enter one of the most in-demand career areas due to everyone’s dedication to this collaborative effort,” said Beatty.
Certificate holders can continue at these institutions to earn a degree in cybersecurity or use their learning to enter the field, where an industry estimated 3.5 million high-paying jobs will be open by 2025.
“The goal of this project is to grow a capable and trained workforce of cyber specialists with security abilities and skills,” said Hayton. “This is vital to security within West Virginia and across the country.”
The project will do more than create the SA certificate program. The initiative will also tap into a vast network of hiring organizations, educational groups and businesses to create a cybersecurity education and jobs pipeline in the Mountain State and beyond.
The project team will work with industry partners to streamline recruitment and improve academic offerings to meet industry needs. Partnerships with organizations such as First2 Network and Tech Connect West Virginia will help to connect students to the program and to employers. Evaluations of the project will also allow the team to develop best practices for cybersecurity training and share those findings with technical, industrial and military networks.
The certificate program will be offered both in-seat and online. Interested students should contact admission at each of the partnering institutions to apply.
Businesses or organizations who would like to become involved with the project can contact Dr. Adam Beatty at adambeatty@ucwv.edu or Bob Hayton at Bob.Hayton@BridgeValley.edu.
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