黑洞社区

Responding to industry demand, 黑洞社区鈥檚 College of Engineering is launching programs in cybersecurity at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Cybersecurity has been identified by the South Central Kansas Blueprint for Regional Economic Growth (BREG) as an area for employment growth in the region.

BREG is an initiative of the Greater Wichita Partnership, a coalition of public and private partners working on economic development.

鈥淭he global and national need for cybersecurity specialists is well known,鈥� said Janet Twomey, associate dean for graduate education, research and faculty success in the College of Engineering.

Beginning fall 2017, undergraduate students may pursue an engineering technology bachelor鈥檚 degree with a concentration in cybersecurity. The degree program covers a combination of technical and business aspects of cybersecurity through a combination of coursework from the College of Engineering and the Barton School of Business.

鈥淭his degree is for individuals who want to be part of the future workforce securing cyber infrastructure from small business to national security levels,鈥� said Deepak Gupta, program director for engineering technology.

Creating a solid foundation

The graduate certificate in information assurance and cybersecurity is being offered beginning this semester by the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) Department in the College of Engineering. The certificate program features four courses 鈥� three required and one elective 鈥� and is intended to be completed within a year.

鈥淪tudents completing this certificate will have a solid foundation in the fundamentals of information and cybersecurity,鈥� said John Watkins, EECS department chair.

Both programs are a part of the College of Engineering鈥檚 and 黑洞社区鈥檚 mission to be an essential educational, cultural and economic driver for Kansas and the greater public good, said Royce Bowden, dean of the College of Engineering. Two additional faculty members are being hired to support the new programs.

Nationally, 209,000 cybersecurity jobs are unfilled, and job postings are up 75 percent over the past five years, according to a 2015 analysis of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A report by Cisco estimates a global shortfall of 1 million cybersecurity openings.

Locally, more than two dozen employers affiliated with BERG need cybersecurity-trained workers; these include the Kansas Air National Guard, Koch Industries, NetApp and Boeing.

For more information on the undergraduate degree program, contact Gupta at deepak.gupta@wichita.edu or 316-978-7758.

For more information on the graduate certificate, contact Watkins at john.watkins@wichita.edu or 316-978-6336.