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Around Campus|


icon of a calendarAugust 5, 2019

icon of a pencilBy Adam DePollo

Connectivity

OU programs join forces to prepare students for a career in cybersecurity

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Adam Sparks

The end of the 2010s have been boom times for cyber criminals. Nearly every month, there seems to be another story about a massive user data security breach, whether it’s at social media giants, cellphone conglomerates, or even election systems.

It should come as no surprise, then, that companies and government agencies are investing heavily in cybersecurity — according to a report from Business Insider Intelligence, an estimated $655 billion will likely be spent on cybersecurity initiatives by 2020.

It’s a good time to look into work in the cybersecurity field. And for those interested in breaking into the industry, there are some very good reasons to start looking at Oakland University. At Oakland, students interested in cybersecurity will find themselves in an interdisciplinary program with modest size, but an impressive array of opportunities at their fingertips.

Students enrolled in several different departments — including the School of Business Administration, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Engineering and Computer Science — can tailor their studies to focus on cybersecurity through an array of majors, minors, and concentrations that incorporate classes from different schools. Given that cybersecurity often involves a significant crime prevention and investigation component, many of the students studying it at OU start out in the College of Arts and Sciences’ criminal justice program.

According to Kim Byrd, director of field services and student support for the criminal justice program, the interdisciplinary experience available to students focusing in cybersecurity is one of the strongest elements of the program, and offers an experience that’s hard to find at other universities. In her role, she works closely with Dr. Vijayan Sugumaran, who chairs the Department of Decision and Information Sciences, to provide students with a highly personalized course of study with ample support from both departments.

“We partner with Dr. Sugumaran’s department to offer students courses in our engineering center,” she explains. “There, they have access to the high-tech closed computer labs so they can do risk analysis and learn the IT portion of that specialization. On our side, meanwhile, they get instruction in criminal justice, investigation and surveillance. They get the best of both worlds between the two of us.”

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Dr. Huirong Fu, a professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, agrees that the education in the technical aspects of cybersecurity at OU makes the program unique in the Field.

“I’m not boasting, we are the best program because we focus on technology,” she says. “We also have the legal part and social part of cybersecurity, but our focus is really on the technology, whereas other programs focus mainly on cybersecurity policy.”

Fu also noted that OU’s program stands out because of its certification as a Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) in Information Assurance and Cyber-Defense Education, a designation conferred by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.

“Our IT program is very strong — every year we graduate more than 100, maybe 200 from the IT program. They all get the certificate approved by the NSA and DHS. That’s the official certificate, and it will help them get a government position after they graduate.”

That certification from the NSA and DHS is just one facet of a robust group of programs available to cybersecurity students at OU, all of which aim to prepare them for transitioning to the workplace after graduation.

Students enrolled in the Criminal Justice program, for instance, are required to complete an internship before graduating. But unlike other universities where students might be left to find an internship on their own, at OU, they receive ample assistance from their academic program, as Kim Byrd explained.

“The internship portion is unlike any other place you will find,” she says. “The students don’t have to fumble and stumble and find their own places — I’ve already made connections throughout the tri-county area to place them to get their experiences.”

Some of the students in the Criminal Justice program choose to complete their internship at another standout aspect of cybersecurity at OU: the Velocity Hub and Cyber Institute located at the Macomb-OU Incubator.

The Velocity Hub is a computer lab designed specifically for cybersecurity exercises, and it offers students room to gain real-world cybersecurity skills in a secure, safe environment. While studying at the Velocity Hub, students are also exposed to a range of potential employers who send representatives to discuss the skills they look for in candidates. The Velocity Hub also offers certification courses, managed through OU’s Office of Professional and Continuing Education.

David Piotkowski, a current OU senior who recently completed an internship at the Velocity Hub, explains that the early exposure to what to expect in job interviews is a major advantage for students like him, who are getting ready to move into the workforce.

“I think when you’re in college there’s a difference between what you learn in the classroom and how it’s applied in the real world,” he say. “So it was a great thing to be exposed to.”

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