The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts jobs in information security will grow by 31 percent by 2029. To address both current and expected workforce shortages, higher education is ramping up its offerings, with cybersecurity exploding as an academic discipline. The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology now recognizes more than 4,000 degree programs at more than 800 institutions.
It takes robust technology to support learning, both in person and remotely, in this tech-centric field of study.
“A lot of the training we do is to prepare students to get a job in the real world,” says Ken Dewey, director of the cybersecurity program at Oklahoma’s Rose State College and a professor in the program. “If we’re not using the correct tools, then when they get to the real world, they won’t have a clue.”
To give students that practical learning experience, colleges and universities are leveraging a range of technology tools. Chief among these is virtualization, running a virtual instance of a computer system in a layer abstracted from the actual hardware.
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