Thursday, June 6, 2024
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Today is National Higher Education Day and it’s fitting that we recognize the fact that education – at every level – is undergoing a remarkable transformation, as traditional classroom boundaries are being redefined through the integration of immersive learning.
Through its surge in popularity, students have benefitted greatly from taking their learning “outside the classroom”. In doing so, they’ve been able to enhance their critical thinking skills and gain a greater level of engagement for the career path they’re on.
And now, at a time when careers in cybersecurity and national security are expected to grow at a rate of 20 percent in 2025 (with a median salary of $81,000), there’s a great example of immersive learning that’s occurring right here in Central Indiana.
Uniquely formed as an information security and threat intelligence non-profit organization, Anderson University hosts the Center for Security Studies and Cyber Defense (AUCSSCD). Students from both Anderson University and Ball State University are instilled with a wide range of professional competencies (both hard and soft skills) and the ethical behavior required for working in cyberspace and national defense.
In doing so, they’re able to learn the essential skills that serve the needs of the Center’s real-world clients while, at the same time, enabling the students to build on their experience by providing services that include live threat monitoring through the Center’s Security Operations Center (SOC), cybersecurity audits, and threat intelligence reports.
Working under the close supervision of senior security staff, the students, some of whom serve as paid interns, are afforded opportunities that include:
- Assessing a client's current security posture.
- Providing recommendations for improving their posture, based on a client’s budget and the resources they’ve devoted to security.
- Developing information security roadmaps, including system security plans, vulnerability management plans, incident response plans, as well as security awareness and training programs.
- Presenting key decision makers with accurate, unbiased evaluation (e.g., capabilities, costs, risks) of information security solutions and authored contracts outlining product delivery processes and project closure.
- Writing highly technical publications for use by a variety of businesses and organizations.
Of course, the knowledge that is gained by applying what a student learns in the real world is essential to the learning that goes into earning a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity or national security studies. The cybersecurity degree is recognized as a National Security Agency (NSA) validated program of study and Anderson University’s degree in national security studies is one of the few undergraduate security studies majors in the country.
As we celebrate the many opportunities that we’re able to achieve that comes from all of the ways we can learn, the fact that it’s happening with careers in cybersecurity is reassuring not just for the students. Because, as we’ve discovered with a lot of things that happen in our world, it makes a difference for all of us, especially as we work on keeping our personal and financial information secure from the countless cyber threats or online scams we deal with on a daily basis. It’s good to know that we’ve got some people who are committed to finding a solution!