The National Science Foundation (NSF) has selected nine universities to receive more than $29 million in funding as part of its Cybercorps Scholarship for Service program, which aims to boost the number of well-trained cybersecurity professionals for careers in the public sector. As the reliance on cyberspace evolves, so does the complexity of the threats, and we must support the development of a robust cybersecurity workforce.
The 700,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs in the US alone will not fill itself alone. While this scholarship is a step in the right direction to prepare the next generation of cybersecurity professionals, it is not enough to create the talent and enthusiasm toward cybersecurity to fill this employment gap that continues to increase.
Looking at Russia and many parts of the former soviet union, where many of the top hackers hail from, middle and high schools place a much larger emphasis on teaching information technology than those in the US. Russian students are required to take this subject at a very young age, and the curriculum ensures they leave with hands-on experience with computer programming and problem-solving.
While distributing $29 million in funding to colleges and universities is an exciting initiative, there is an unrealized opportunity for job growth within cybersecurity if we strengthen our K-12 Stem education by recruiting and training more teachers to teach it.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2023/01/13/nine-universities-receive-29-million-in-federal-grants-to-educate-more-cybersecurity-workers/?sh=4adabcc5646d
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2017/06/why-so-many-top-hackers-hail-from-russia/comment-page-2/
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Olivia Rempe
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