Tobacco Commission Funds New Cybersecurity Academy

Source from:  Southwest Virginia Today 11/24/2017

A cybersecurity academy will be established at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center in Abingdon.

During a cybersecurity summit held Nov. 16 at the center, the Virginia Tobacco Commission awarded a $190,000 grant that will be used to purchase equipment to start the Cisco Networking and Cyber Security Academy. It will be done in partnership with Old Dominion University.

Sara Williams, grants program administrator of the Tobacco Commission, presented the grant to David Matlock, executive director of the Higher Ed Center.

“This is very exciting for the Higher Education Center. We believe this partnership with ODU and also our partnership with the community colleges system and the Virginia Tobacco Commission is a genuine game changer for our region,” Matlock said. “It’s going to be wonderful.”

It will increase job-readiness of the local workforce to attract and retain employers, while providing entry to high level Cisco credentials to meet current demand for IT/cybersecurity professionals, according to a news release from the Tobacco Commission.

The academy will “develop and offer a high quality curriculum that will combine in-depth technical training and professional skills development covering a variety of disciplines including networking virtualization, storage and cybersecurity,” Matlock said.

Deri Draper, provost fellow with ODU’s College of Continuing Education and Professional Development, is passionate about bringing jobs to Southwest Virginia.

Draper said that these CISCO certifications will enhance the “New Virginia Economy.”

By using instructors from the area, the learning experience is going to be customized for the students, Draper said.

“We will have blended learning, instructional-led learning, and we will have a virtual environment so students can hack in a safe place, [whether they] do it at home, work, it doesn’t necessarily have to be in the classroom,” Draper said.

The summit focused on providing insight on the roles cybersecurity and manufacturing industries will play in the future economy.

Virginia Secretary of Technology Karen Jackson gave the keynote address.

“As a region, this is your time, this is your chance,” Jackson said. “You have a lot of great students, a lot of great opportunity out there to come together and put a flag in the ground for cybersecurity in Southwest Virginia.”  Enditem