32 HBCU Campuses Join Together To Prepare More Cybersecurity Professionals

May 17, 2024

78 1 minute read

The tech industry is facing a critical shortage of cybersecurity professionals.

The gap between the number of skilled cybersecurity staffers needed and the number available has risen by nearly 13 percent year-over-year globally, according to the Cybersecurity Workforce Study from ISC2. On top of that, the industry continues to struggle to bring in professionals from diverse backgrounds. That shortfall could leave individuals, businesses, and countries vulnerable to an increasingly complex array of cyber attacks that can impact both our digital and physical worlds.

PROPEL HBCU Cybersecurity Consortium (HCC), in partnership with Southern Company, has set out an ambitious plan to change that.

The Consortium, made up of currently of 32 HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities), is designed to “set a benchmark for developing a future workforce that is well equipped to address and solve the cybersecurity needs of today and tomorrow,” said chairman, president, and CEO of Southern Company Chris Womack.

19 out of the 32 colleges are located in the Southeast.

Dr. Lisa Herring, who has served as the Propel Center’s President since September of 2023, said the new Consortium will help enhance job preparedness for students interested in pursuing a career in cybersecurity.

“We work with HBCUs across the country to ensure that they have access and training. Most importantly, we’ll support and provide credentialing to students who’ve chosen an HBCU but have an interest in a technology-related career,” Herring told Hypepotamus.

The Consortium is starting out with the launch of its first two programs: Faculty Fellows and a Student Accelerator.

The student accelerator is a year-long immersive experience for juniors and seniors interested in a more structured, expansive curriculum on top of their current class schedule. The Faculty Fellows program is built to upskill the next generation of cybersecurity educators across the country.

It will also soon launch a virtual speaker series, called CyberChats, for students looking to dive further into cybersecurity-related topics.

The Cybersecurity Consortium is an expansion of PROPEL’s overall educational mission. The innovation and learning hub, which serves the entire HBCU community, announced plans to open a physical location in Atlanta in 2021.