University of South Texas at San Antonio Receives Cybersecurity Grant for K-12 Program

One of my all-time favorite things about being a writer is being able to write about topics and news that is interesting and impactful. Something that I think is impactful and will continue to be is cybersecurity. As we saw a few weeks ago, ensuring that we have cybersecurity experts in the United States is essential. As our need for technology changes, shifting education in this space is key. Obviously from a University education perspective this has already been a subject of study. But, what about providing this education even earlier? Well, that’s apparently the point of a K-12 cybersecurity program through the University of Texas at San Antonio. It’s so great to hear that UTSA’s Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security has been awarded a $250k grant. This grant will go towards raising public awareness of the importance of cybersecurity.

We’re going to talk more about this. But first, here are grants listed on GrantWatch for both USA and Israel scientists addressing internet security.

Let’s Talk More About Tech: Cybersecurity Is Critical

Cybersecurity is one of the fastest growing fields in the United States. Also, it’s a really important issue within American society. COVID-19 saw many people spending more time online. And even more than that, it’s important to ensure the security of people’s information online. It’s important to maintaining national security. It’s also important to keeping bank functions in operation. And so many other things. That’s why it’s so critical to ensure that more people are trained in this absolutely vital field.

Let’s talk about the program at UTSA’s Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security.  The CIAS K-12 Cybersecurity Program exists to foster a real culture of cybersecurity preparedness by engaging students and families. This is important to building education early on. The CIAS game development team creates educational games that teach cybersecurity principles in K-12 classrooms.

Author’s note: This seems incredibly awesome. There are several games offered at affordable prices, and if I was a teacher I would really check these games out.

Where This Funding Is Going

Okay, so here’s the really incredible part. The funding will allow this program to provide resources and tools to educators at no-cost. These learning materials will help educators increase awareness about cybersecurity. This can help increase the awareness to people of all ages and backgrounds.

Larry Sjelin, chief of staff and director of game development at the CIAS, spoke on the grant award. “We are very appreciative of this grant — it’s the single largest gift our program has received. Sjelin continued: “The Gula Tech Foundation’s focus on overall data care and good cyber hygiene aligns perfectly with our focus of creating a more secure nation and a workforce pipeline through a comprehensive cybersecurity program.”

GrantWatch Thinks This Kind of Program Is Awesome

There’s so much to say about how awesome cybersecurity programs in K-12 are. The idea of teaching kids from an early age about this very exciting field is so great. It gives more young adults pathways to education as well. And it gives students an understanding into the possibilities ahead of them. These are all great things. We really hope to see even more programs like this. We do have an entire grant category on technology, which we hope our readers will find helpful for similar grants.

If you have any questions about this, or any other grant category, feel free to reach out! You can reach our amazing customer support team at GrantWatch by calling 561-249-4129. We’re always on hand to answer any questions you may have!