UA Little Rock, Forge Institute to offer free cybersecurity camp for students
by July 5, 2021 7:51 pm 941 views
The Forge Institute and University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Cyber Arena have announced a partnership for a summer cybersecurity camp for 7-12 graders.
UA Little Rock’s Cyber Arena is a cybersecurity-focused lab within the Department of Computer Science. The initiative with Forge will support the first National Security Agency (NSA)-sponsored GenCyber Summer Camp in Arkansas slated for July 12-23, 2021.
The free cybersecurity summer camp is part of an initiative that brings students, educators, industry, and state leaders together to drive interest and long-term investment in secondary school cybersecurity education. It is funded by a $100,000 grant from the NSA.
Forge Institute is providing instructors and guest speakers from its network of subject matter experts. Forge is also assisting with curriculum development by providing insight to spark the interest of the camp’s participants and encourage their pursuit of a career in cybersecurity.
“This is going to be an exciting two weeks for all of the participants,” said Scott Anderson, executive director of Forge Institute. “They will have an opportunity to hear from experts in cybersecurity from across the nation and come away with more awareness of what a career in cybersecurity looks like.”
“This is a fantastic opportunity for Arkansas students. I am hoping many will choose a career in IT or cybersecurity,” Anderson said. “Events like these are essential to growing the state’s pipeline of talent that our organizations need to protect their systems and networks. We are excited about Arkansas’s first GenCyber Summer Camp and our partnership with the awesome team at UA Little Rock, who is making cybersecurity education a priority for their faculty, students, and the State’s future workforce.”
“This program provides students with an engaging experience,” said Philip Huff, assistant professor of cybersecurity at UA Little Rock. “This unique camp ensures a fun time for students at all levels of technical ability. We want each student to come away feeling excited and confident about cybersecurity. The Cyber Arena provides experiences in phishing, ransomware, cryptography, forensics, and many more types of hands-on technologies. Plus, each day students reflect on ethical questions in cybersecurity and data privacy, learning through recent events. We hope to send campers back home pumped up to learn more about cybersecurity classes offered at their schools.”
To sign up for the camp, click here.