CYBER.ORG launches K-12 HBCU feeder program to grow and diversify the national cybersecurity workforce
CYBER.ORG announced the kickoff of a new pilot program created to recruit a diverse body of K-12 students to pursue undergraduate cybersecurity degrees and bolster the U.S. cybersecurity workforce. Through a $250,000 grant provided by the National Security Agency (NSA), CYBER.ORG will develop a K-12 feeder program for Grambling State University (GSU) in Northern Louisiana, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and the first university in the state to create a cybersecurity undergraduate degree. The goal is to replicate this model between school districts and HBCU’s across the country.
This project aims to address the lack of diversity in the cybersecurity workforce, which is due uneven and unequal access to K-12 cybersecurity education. A recent EducationWeek study revealed students in small and high-poverty school districts are significantly less likely to be exposed to cybersecurity education, resulting in lower-income and minority students having significantly less entrance to this critical field of study.