Six historically Black universities have been selected by IBM to host virtual Cybersecurity Leadership Centers on their campuses to prepare students for cybersecurity careers. Participating universities will have access to a customized, multi-year cybersecurity experience with IBM, including cybersecurity curricula, cloud access, and an immersive learning experience to expand HBCUs’ capacity to develop top talent in the cybersecurity sector.
HBCUs’ faculty and students will have an opportunity to benefit from IBM Security’s Command Center, through which they can experience a highly realistic, simulated cyberattack, designed to prepare them and train them on response techniques. Moreover, HBCUs’ faculty will have access to consultation sessions with IBM technical personnel on cybersecurity. IBM will also provide faculty and students with no-cost access to multiple cloud environments to help hone their skills. IBM will develop for each HBCU a customized IBM Security Learning Academy portal including courses designed to help the university enhance its cybersecurity education portfolio.
“We believe that the most promising job candidates for today’s demanding careers will come from communities that may have been historically overlooked or excluded due to outdated hiring policies and old-fashioned credentialling,” said Justina Nixon-Saintil, vice president, IBM Corporate Social Responsibility. “That’s why we’re uniting the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors to cultivate STEM talent from underrepresented communities to address the world’s most critical challenges.”
The six participating HBCUs are Clark Atlanta University, Morgan State University in Baltimore, North Carolina A&T State University, South Carolina State University, Southern University in Louisiana, and Xavier University of Louisiana.
