The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) joined hands with the AMA Computer University Inc. in promoting institutional cooperation in cybersecurity courses.
Together, they will push the integration of cybersecurity in the academe in order to increase the country’s cybersecurity professionals.
According to a recent press release, the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding on 22 March was led by the DICT Acting Secretary and the University’s President.
The need for cybersecurity education
The Acting Secretary reiterated that higher education institutions can help address the cybersecurity issue by creating initiatives to educate students and professionals, producing the next generation of cyber-warriors.
The Philippines is lagging behind its ASEAN neighbours such as Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.
With only 84 certified information security systems professionals as of 2018, there is a need for more cyber-warriors in the country. Worse, almost half of them are working overseas.
AMA is the first academic institution to partner with DICT.
This partnership is in line with the Department’s partnership with the Commission of Higher Education (CHED) to promote a bachelor degree on Cybersecurity.
The Department’s Assistant Secretary on Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies shared that there will be a series of consultations taking place this year before the Commission will release a memorandum for the proposed program.
He added that building a cybersecurity workforce to meet current and future needs begins with educating a broader generation of future practitioners.
Working together
The government and the academe should partner by investing in programs to ensure that cybersecurity education at every level of the education system is available, accessible, and aligned to the needs of the cybersecurity workforce as well as to the emerging cybersecurity challenges.
The integration of Cybersecurity in the academe is under Key Imperative 4 of the National Cybersecurity Plan (NCSP) 2022 – the national roadmap for securing the Philippine cyberspace.
The Course
As reported, the University’s BS Cybersecurity course aims to produce highly-proficient graduates who can help protect individuals, groups, organisations and nations from hacking or cyberattacks.
The program was developed in partnership with international ethical hacking organisations, which also helps the University to stay updated with the current real-world practices and cases.
After completing the course, graduates can pursue career opportunities in cyber intelligence, ethical hacking, digital forensics, data security and other fields related to cybersecurity.
Additionally, they also offer a short course in cybersecurity, which is designed for IT graduates or professionals who want field-specific learning on the said discipline.
The University, reportedly, signed a partnership agreement with an internationally recognised training institution for ethical hacking to strengthen its capability to offer BS Cybersecurity.
Under the said partnership, exclusive training will be provided to the faculty, equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to provide quality education to its students.
OpenGov Asia earlier reported on Cybersecurity in the Philippine academe to bridge skills gap, which aims to further engage the youth in cyber resiliency initiatives.
