In cooperation with the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech, the Information Technology Security Office is hosting a GenCyber teacher’s camp for 20 high school teachers from across the country.

The camp runs June 26-30 on Virginia Tech's Blacksburg campus. It provides teachers with the instruction, guidance, and curricular content to improve cybersecurity planning and education at their respective schools.

Through the camp, the teachers learn what they need to know in order to educate others on the importance of cybersecurity, describe the technology and science behind good cybersecurity practices, and inform students of career opportunities in the cybersecurity field. The camp will also connect these educators to resources that they can tap into for further guidance.

Joseph Tront, a professor in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, along with  alumna Ingrid Burbey coordinated to make this year’s camp a reality. The lead instructor for the camp isDavid Raymond, deputy director of IT security at Virginia Tech.

“This is a great opportunity to pass some of our lessons learned on to the greater educational community and to help high school teachers to engage students early,” Raymond said. “This is how we will prime the pump to get students involved in cybersecurity education in order to help close the workforce gap in this important area.”

GenCyber camps are offered for both students and teachers at no cost. More than 150 teachers applied for 20 available slots. Teachers will stay in residence halls on the Virginia Tech campus and will have the majority of their meals at the D2 dining facility. GenCyber is made possible through sponsorships from the National Security Agency and the National Science Foundation. 

 

Written by Leah M. Johnson.

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