UMD To Offer Cyber Camp for High School Students This Summer

The University of Maryland will host a U.S. Cyber Camp for high school students on the College Park campus this summer in partnership with CyberWatch and the U.S. Cyber Challenge.

This one-week commuter day camp is scheduled for July 18 – 22, 2011 from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm. Students can register at:  www.edtechpolicy.org/cyberk12/cybercamps/

The program has a capacity of 25 students. Some slots are still available. The program fee is $200 if registration occurs on or before June 1.

Participating students will learn about the field of cybersecurity and skills needed for this exciting profession. Specific topics covered include:

•    Operating systems
•    System administration
•    Networking
•    Programming
•    Guest speakers, site visit, cyber defense exercise, and more.

This is an intermediate level camp. Some technical experience is recommended such as: networking, Cisco Academy, and/or Java programming. Four days of activities culminate in a computer-based "capture the flag" competition.

The U.S. Cyber Challenge (USCC) is a national coalition of public-private sector entities collaborating to enhance the workforce with the next generation of cyber security professionals through skill development activities, mentoring, and resources, and the facilitation of scholarship, internship and employment opportunities.

CyberWatch is an Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Center, headquartered at Prince George’s Community College and funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). CyberWatch, founded in 2005, has a mission to increase the quantity and quality of the cybersecurity workforce. The CyberWatch goals are focused on information assurance (IA) education at all levels, from elementary through graduate school, but especially the community college level, and include curriculum development, faculty professional development, student development, career pathways, and public awareness.

For more information, please contact Dr. Davina Pruitt-Mentle at dpruitt@umd.edu or 301-503-8070, or Dr. Michel Cukier, mcukier@umd.edu or 301-314-2804.