Purdue to offer immersive online program to train novices for cybersecurity jobs

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University is partnering with design and development company Socratic Arts to offer the Cyber Academy, a 30-week cybersecurity training program designed to train candidates with basic computer skills and a desire to learn about cybersecurity.

Students in the immersive program, developed with funding from the U.S. Department of Defense, learn to identify, defend against and reverse engineer cyberattacks in a realistic, but fictional, context as if they were entry-level employees in cybersecurity operations for the military, government or business.

“Purdue recognizes that cybersecurity is an exploding field vital to the nation and to society – and that there just are not enough trained people, at all levels, to fill jobs in this field,” said Gerry McCartney, executive vice president for Purdue Online. “This partnership, among Purdue’s many other cybersecurity teaching and research efforts, can help address the challenge.”

More information about the Purdue Cyber Academy and other Purdue online programs is available through Purdue’s unified online portal at online.purdue.edu. Informational sessions about the Purdue Cyber Academy will be held at 7 p.m. EST on Wednesday (March 4) and March 18. Visit https://eventreg.purdue.edu/online/CAinfo to sign up for the sessions.

The Cyber Academy is open to students who are intensely curious, dogged at problem solving, and predisposed toward self-directed learning. Some knowledge of computer networks, protocols and the fundamentals of operating systems is recommended, but the Cyber Academy’s successes have included people from a variety of other fields.

“The qualities successful students bring to the program are more important than their professional backgrounds,” said Ray Bareiss, Socratic Arts vice president.

Students work through tasks in three modules involving 25 hours a week and building on each other. The initial Immediate Immersion course develops foundational cybersecurity knowledge, while the Defense and Attack courses that follow impart understanding of cybersecurity defense tactics and of the methods cyberattackers use.

The courses are not for college credit, but students receive certification upon completion, preparing them for entry-level cybersecurity jobs.

Purdue joins colleges and universities already offering the program, including the University of Texas at Austin and the University of California, Davis.

For more information please email cyberacademy@purdue.edu.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to today’s toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 6 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at purdue.edu.

Writer: Greg Kline, 765-494-8167, gkline@purdue.edu 

Source: Donna Cumberland, donnac@purdue.edu