Ivy Tech Bloomington is creating a Cyber Range — a hands-on cybersecurity training site — to prepare students for the workforce.
The range will build on Ivy Tech’s curriculum and match the needs of local employers, said Assistant Professor and Cybersecurity Department Chair Jason Endris. The site will go live for the fall 2024 semester.
The Cyber Range will have the same hardware and software used by industry partners such as ManTech and NSWC Crane, he said.
“We are going to be reaching out to them to fully understand exactly what their skill set requirements are for their employees,” Endris said. “That's what we're going to implement into the Cyber Range, so that we make sure that we are teaching what students need.”
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The range will use $40,000 won in the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship “Pitch for Skilled Trades” competition Oct. 31, according to a release.
Endris said Ivy Tech has been trying to build a Cyber Range for years. Entrepreneurship Program Chair Sueann Graham and Endris pitched the range to the NACCE in Nashville, Tenn., to win the funding.
The existing cybersecurity curriculum is mostly theory-based, Endris said. Students learn from textbooks and take quizzes to help them understand cybersecurity. The Cyber Range will allow students to use hands-on learning to respond to practical problems, a skill Endris said is lacking in many programs.
“So, when they get into the workforce, they will know exactly how to respond to an incident instead of just understanding what that incident was,” Endris said.
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According to the release, the Cyber Range will help the college “provide simulation cybersecurity training in a safe environment, run live team exercises, optimize tech stack and security processes, and foster collaboration among information technology students.”
Endris said the college will work with The Mill, Brown County Career Resource Center and StoneGate Arts & Education Center to upskill people in cybersecurity and get others into the industry.
“We're excited to be involved in the community with this new Cyber Range and look forward to a lot of opportunities it's going to bring to Ivy Tech Bloomington in our School of IT program,” Endris said.
Aubrey is our higher education reporter and a Report For America corps member. Contact her at aubmwrig@iu.edu or follow her on Twitter at @aubreymwright.
