Following the university’s designation as an IBM-HBCU Quantum Research Center, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical (A&T) State has announced a new IBM collaboration to establish a Cybersecurity Leadership Center for learning, application, and professional development for students and faculty.

“We believe that the most promising job candidates for today’s demanding careers will come from communities that may have been historically overlooked or excluded due to outdated hiring policies and old-fashioned credentialing,” said Justina Nixon-Saintil, vice president, IBM Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental, Social and Governance. “That’s why we’re uniting the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors to cultivate STEM talent from underrepresented communities to address the world’s most critical challenges.”

Seen in a 2019 photo honoring her Caribbean American Heritage Trailblazer Award from the Institute of Caribbean Studies, Nixon-Saintil served as a First Movers Fellow at The Aspen Institute for almost nine years. She earned a bachelor's degree in engineering at the State University of New York at Buffalo and an M.B.A. at the Leonard N. Stern School of Business.

Through the collaboration, IBM will provide access to cybersecurity curricula, and develop customized portals,  including courses designed to help each university enhance its cybersecurity education portfolio.

Faculty and students will have an opportunity to benefit from IBM Security’s Command Center, through which they can experience a highly realistic, simulated cyberattack, designed to prepare them and train them on response techniques.

Moreover, faculty will have access to consultation sessions with IBM technical personnel on cybersecurity. IBM will provide faculty and students with no-cost access to multiple SaaS IBM Cloud environments.

In a recent announcement, IBM noted the Cybersecurity Leadership Center is the result of a pledge the company’s leaders made last year in efforts to “build a more diverse U.S. cyber workforce” and “underscore IBM’s focus on providing STEM job training to underrepresented communities as part of its commitment to skill 30 million people worldwide by 2030 to create equitable, inclusive economic opportunities while also addressing a longstanding STEM job skills shortage impacting the business community.”

“North Carolina A&T State University being chosen as one of the first six HBCU Cybersecurity Leadership Centers is a privilege that will provide students with access to top-notch education, technology, and industry professionals and ensure the future cybersecurity workforce will be diverse, experienced and capable of protecting this country,” said Hossein Sarrafzadeh, Ph.D., director of the Center of Excellence in Cybersecurity Research, Education and Outreach.

The university has cemented its leadership in cybersecurity research and its preparation of the next generation of leaders in the field through CREO and the College of Engineering, which consistently garners national recognition, including recent graduate program rankings for the college and its computer science program in U.S. News & World Report.

A&T joins the initiative with other historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), including Clark Atlanta University, Morgan State University, South Carolina State University, Southern University System, and the Xavier University of Louisiana.