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Texas Southern University Teams with IBM to Address Cybersecurity Talent Shortage

Posted on Friday, September 23, 2022

TSU will work with IBM to establish a Cybersecurity Leadership Center, giving students and faculty access to IBM training, software, and certifications at no cost.

TSU will work with IBM to establish a Cybersecurity Leadership Center, giving students and faculty access to IBM training, software, and certifications at no cost.

During the National HBCU Week Conference convened by the U.S. Department of Education and the White House, Texas Southern University announced a collaboration with IBM to help establish a virtual TSU Cybersecurity Leadership Center.

TSU is one of 20 schools working with IBM to create Cybersecurity Leadership Centers.

With 500,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs in the U.S., the need for expertise is critical. According to a recent IBM Security study*, insufficiently staffed organizations average $550,000 more in breach costs than those that state they are sufficiently staffed.

“The collaboration between TSU and IBM is aligned with TSU’s commitment to preparing students for the careers of tomorrow and performing research that provides solutions to the issues facing our world today,” said Dr. Michelle Penn-Marshall, vice president for research and innovation. “We look forward to the transformative work that will be conducted by our students and faculty, and the cybersecurity leaders and concepts of the future that will be developed as a result of this partnership.”

Through IBM’s collaboration, faculty and students at participating schools will have access to coursework, lectures, immersive training experiences, certifications, IBM Cloud-hosted software, and professional development resources, all at no cost to them. This includes access to:

  • Cybersecurity curricula: IBM will develop for each participating HBCU, a customized IBM Security Learning Academy portal – an IBM client offering – including courses designed to help the university enhance its cybersecurity education portfolio. In addition, IBM will continue to give access to IBM SkillsBuild.
  • Immersive learning experience: Faculty and students of participating HBCUs 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.
  • Software: Multiple IBM Security premier enterprise security products hosted in the IBM Cloud Professional development: Forums to exchange best practices, learn from IBM experts, and discover IBM internships and job openings

“Collaborations between academia and the private sector can help students prepare for success. That’s especially true for HBCUs because their mission is so vital,” said Justina Nixon-Saintil, Vice President, IBM Corporate Social Responsibility and ESG. “The Cybersecurity Leadership Centers we’re co-creating with Historically Black College and Universities epitomize our commitment to the Black community and STEM education; it also builds on our pledge to train 150,000 people in cybersecurity over three years.”

* Conducted by Ponemon Institute and sponsored and analyzed by IBM

Category: Alumni, Faculty & Staff, Students, News Media

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Last updated: 09/23/2022