New consortium to establish CyberWATCH Regional Center;
University of Maryland to participate in project

COLLEGE PARK, MD (November 2005) - A consortium of Washington-area organizations led by Prince Georges Community College and including five community colleges, the University of Maryland and four other universities, several regional high schools, government agencies and businesses, has been awarded a $3 million grant over four years from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The grant will support a project entitled "CyberWATCH (Cybersecurity: Washington Area Technician and Consortium Headquarters)" to establish and operate a Regional Center in cybersecurity from 2005 through 2009. This is the only center located on the East Coast. A kick-off ceremony is planned for January when the projectf's web site is initiated.

The University of Maryland will take the K-12 lead in the CyberWATCH initiative. This will include professional development for educators through the annual Cyberethics, Cybersafety, & Cybersecurity (C3) Conference, and a series of guidance counselor workshops throughout Maryland, the District of Columbia and northern Virginia. A three week residential program will be offered to rising junior and high school students via the Young Scholars Program: Students, Learning and Technology, and an after school enrichment program will be developed specifically focusing on helping girls understand the plethora of career opportunities in the cybersecurity field. Davina Pruitt-Mentle, Director of Education Technology Outreach at the College of Education serves as the University PI and will coordinator the K-12 efforts.

In addition to the University of Maryland, the CyberWATCH consortium includes: Anne Arundel Community College, the Community Colleges of Baltimore County, Montgomery College, Northern Virginia and Prince Georges Community College; and George Mason, George Washington, Johns Hopkins, and Towson Universities. Additional consortium members include five Cisco Academy high schools and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. The consortium members will collaborate to share best practices, methodologies, curricula, course modules and materials, and provide faculty training and support to colleges who want to develop a cybersecurity/information assurance curriculum.

The CyberWATCH Regional Center addresses challenges and concerns in education and the business industry, specifically the shortage of security professionals, a perceived lack of business and team-work skills among information technology professionals, and the lack of a cybersecurity curriculum at many higher education institutions. Additionally, because the Washington region and its higher education institutions have such a diverse population, professional development for faculty, high school teachers, students, and staff will target populations that are traditionally least likely to major in fields requiring a cybersecurity/information assurance component.

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For more information on the College of Education, visit: www.education.umd.edu
or contact Deborah Hudson, Assistant Dean for External Relations, at: dmhudson@umd.edu