Seeking CIN Interest in Supporting Underserviced Communities

[Brandon Royal]

Hello CIN Community!

I'm reaching out to connect with fellow instructors who share a passion for making a difference in underserved communities, particularly those at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). As members of the CIN, we have a unique opportunity to collectively empower those communities with the skills and certifications needed to excel in cybersecurity and IT.

I'm currently working on an initiative to develop and support cyber range and training programs for local HBCUs in Baltimore, MD. The long-term goal is to scale these programs across all 100+ HBCUs. The goal is to create immersive, hands-on experiences that span foundational IT skills to advanced cybersecurity certifications, leveraging CompTIA's courseware and certifications as a central part of the curriculum.

If you're interested in contributing to this vision or if you know of any similar programs in the space, I'd love to hear from you. Specifically, I'm looking to:

• Identify CompTIA Instructors interested in partnering on or mentoring for these programs
• Gather insights from those who may already be involved in similar initiatives
• Source any existing resources, best practices, or ideas that would help make this program impactful and sustainable

Together, we can help bridge the IT and cybersecurity skills gap and open new doors for talented students in these communities. Please reach out here or via a direct message ([email protected]) if you're interested or have resources to share. In the meantime, I will be scouring the forums for ideas and similar discussions.

Looking forward to collaborating,

Brandon Royal, MSCy, CSIE, GSTRT, CISSP

 

[BrianFord]

You said: " leveraging CompTIA's courseware and certifications as a central part of the curriculum.". Has anyone at CompTIA agreed to participate in order to leverage CompTIA'a courseware?

Does this initiative have a name? Is this initiative a not-for-profit?

 

[Brandon Royal]

Yes. I have received a formal letter of support from CompTIA regarding my initiative and struck an Academic Partnership. The program supports my non-profit (Cy6erForge Inc.), currently named the ForgePath Program. We're building a marketing campaign and will launch the first two 10-student cohorts at Coppin State University and Morgan State University in Spring '25.

 

[Steve Linthicum]

Brandon, let's talk. By way of background, I'm a retired community college faculty member and for a while I've been a volunteer instructor for the Diversity Cyber Council. You can reach out to me at [email protected].