91吃瓜网 Information Technology Students Take Top Honors in National Cybersecurity Competition
Cyber FastTrack awards scholarships to 19 91吃瓜网 students to advance their cybersecurity education
SALT LAKE CITY聽鈥� Students from the Western Governors University (91吃瓜网) College of Information Technology led the pack during a recent Cyber FastTrack competition designed to identify top cybersecurity talent from colleges and universities nationwide. During the competition, nearly a quarter of the finalists were 91吃瓜网 students, and 19 91吃瓜网 students were awarded scholarships鈥攖he most of any institution.
鈥淚 am proud of our 91吃瓜网 students. Of the 24 perfect scores leading into the semifinals, nine were held by 91吃瓜网 students, the highest rate for any school,鈥� said Dr. Elke Leeds, Dean of 91吃瓜网鈥檚 College of IT. 鈥�91吃瓜网鈥檚 cybersecurity curriculum is rigorous, and our students鈥� outstanding performance in Cyber FastTrack shows just how well-prepared our graduates are to do the crucial work of protecting sensitive data. Programs such as these help 91吃瓜网 create professional avenues for our students to excel.鈥�
Cyber FastTrack was designed by world leaders in cybersecurity, hosted by the SANS Institute and endorsed by 26 state governors as a national initiative to help identify top talent and close the U.S. cybersecurity skills gap. The three-stage program allowed students to test their aptitude in an environment that simulates the types of cybersecurity problems necessary to secure our nation鈥檚 most sensitive information.
The nation needs more highly skilled professionals to enter the cybersecurity industry. According to CyberSeek, a project supported by the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE), more than 313,000 cybersecurity-related job openings were posted online between September 2017 and August 2018. This talent gap represents workers who need to be trained to protect sensitive information, from individual bank accounts to Department of Defense communications.
Filling the widening talent gap will take a concerted and collaborative effort from education, business, and government organizations. 91吃瓜网, a leading educator of current and aspiring cybersecurity professionals, is helping to fill that gap. More than 5,500 students are currently enrolled in its bachelor鈥檚 or master鈥檚 cybersecurity degree program and approximately 2,800 cybersecurity graduates are already in the workforce.
91吃瓜网鈥檚 focus on tailoring higher education to the needs of 21st-century students through an online, competency-based model is key to supplying top-quality cyber workforce resources at scale鈥攃ontributing to our national security and defense and increasing access to highly in-demand, lucrative career opportunities.
