Just as an alloy is made stronger by combining two or metallic elements, so is a new local academic initiative designed to help the nation's cybersecurity workforce.
A partnership between Lincoln University and the Jefferson City School District centers around Cyber.org, an academic initiative from the Cyber Innovation Center. Cyber.org has partnered with 10 historically Black colleges and universities to develop and distribute cyber, STEM and computer science curricula to K-12 schools across the country.
The local program, dubbed Project Reach, has started out as morning clubs at Jefferson City High School and Capital City High School. Both high schools have direct access to Cyber.org curriculum and professional development and plan to offer full classes next year. Eventually, it could lead to high school students graduating with professional cybersecurity certificates.
Lincoln's role will be to develop the certificate opportunities and provide administrative support, which will be handled through its computer sciences program and faculty.
From the JC Schools' perspective, Project Reach can put its students on a fast track to obtain highly sought after careers in cybersecurity. Teachers will be equipped with a high quality curriculum to embed in computer courses, and students interested in computer science or cybersecurity will have relevant coursework to further those interests.
Project Reach also establishes a clear pipeline to enroll in a program at Lincoln upon graduation or enter a field with numerous job opportunities working for the U.S. government, military or private industries.
Overseeing the program are Chris Herriman at Jefferson City High School and Jon Lindquist at Capital City High School.
Herriman said of Project Reach: "The partnership is a win-win, not only for Lincoln University but also for us because we can send our kids directly into the workforce.
"And the thing I love about cyber is they can do their own business if they wanted without a degree, without a certification. It's one of those fields that's growing that if you're good at what you do and you're passionate about what you do, performance will get you where you need to go."
Lincoln has an established computer science degree program and is in the process of reviewing courses to develop a cybersecurity certificate program and, eventually, a degree program.
The certificate will be a 15-credit, one semester program housed under the university's developing Security Sciences Institute. Lincoln's partnership with Cyber.org will provide an easy transition from high school coursework to Lincoln's certificate or degree programs.
Darius Watson, Lincoln's executive director of academic initiatives, spearheaded the Project Reach partnership and collaboration with Cyber.org.
He said the next step for the university is to expand the partnership to high schools in St. Louis and Kansas City. That could then lead to development of cybersecurity conferences or camps for the high school students to engage in.
"We're really excited about what this represents," he said. "We see this as the first of many steps toward not just greater partnership with Jefferson City but a full and more robust development of our own security sciences programs here at Lincoln University."
Through their unique contributions to the partnership, Lincoln and JC Schools are creating a stronger environment for learning and for succeeding in the workforce.
Both Lincoln University and JC Schools have a history of collaborative partnerships with businesses, other educational institutions and community organizations that work splendidly together to find solutions to the big challenges facing us. We look forward to the fruits of this latest partnership.
-- News Tribune
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