Langevin to Lead New Institute for Cybersecurity & Emerging Technologies Proposed at RIC
GoLocalProv News Team
Langevin to Lead New Institute for Cybersecurity & Emerging Technologies Proposed at RIC
The Governor will formally submit this proposal to the General Assembly as an amendment to his FY 2024 budget proposal. The Governor is proposing an initial three-year budget of $4 million with $2 million coming from State Fiscal Recovery Funds and $2 million from existing RIC resources.
According to elected -- and RIC -- officials, the Institute, led by Langevin, "will position Rhode Island to lead the region in developing highly-skilled Cybersecurity professionals through certificate, bachelor, and master’s level courses and programming while attracting leading researchers and education professionals to develop practical and policy approaches to current Cybersecurity challenges."
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About Field
According to McKee's office, recent reports indicate that the need for professionals in the Cybersecurity industry is growing rapidly. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, the workforce grew 250 percent worldwide between 2013 and 2021, from 1 million to 3.5 million. According to Emsi Burning Glass, over 715,000 additional employees were needed in the United States in November 2021. This workforce need marks a much-needed gap for institutions across the country to develop pathways for Americans to earn industry-aligned credentials, at all levels, within the Cybersecurity industry.
“The Cyber Institute will provide students with the necessary knowledge and skills required to excel in the digital age. Students will be equipped with the tools and techniques to protect and secure sensitive information from cyber threats and attacks,” said Langevin. “Moreover, they will be trained to develop and apply machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies to solve complex problems across various industries. The training needed to fill these important job needs can’t come soon enough.”
With the support of RIC’s School of Business, where the Institute will be housed, the following development activities will begin if the proposal is approved by the General Assembly:
Establish a launch cohort of students for Fall 2023, culminating in an annual Symposium in Spring 2024 that establishes a 10-year vision for the Institute.
Develop and publish a strategic plan to expand Cybersecurity and the Institute’s impact on the New England and national Cybersecurity workforce. This plan may include:
- Training for first responders and military veterans.
- Identifying and developing training opportunities for targeted industry sectors such as healthcare, defense, finance, and education professionals.
- Incorporating industry badging (Microsoft, Google, etc.)
- Developing and coordinating a coalition of schools and Institutes Higher Education to develop and align curriculum with other Rhode Island institutions of higher education that offer Cybersecurity to ensure the region has multiple venues that make Rhode Island a destination for Cybersecurity education and training. Each of the schools in the coalition is a National Security Agency-designated National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense and contributes interests, experience, and skills aligned with Cybersecurity systems.
- Developing and hosting a nationally recognized Speaker Series featuring national leaders, hosted by Congressman Langevin on campus, locally, and nationally. Each Spring, the Institute will host an on-campus symposium that will attract national leaders focused on current trends and needs of the U.S. government, industry, and education in the areas of Cybersecurity.
- Establishing a Cybersecurity Professional Fellowship at the Institute to attract top academic teaching and research talent from the Cybersecurity field to Rhode Island.
- Developing Cybersecurity immersion opportunities for Rhode Island middle and high school students that develops a workforce pipeline through programming across higher education.
- Providing technical assistance for Rhode Island Cybersecurity professionals through the business school and RI Commerce for kickstarting new Cybersecurity businesses in the state.
“The new Institute for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies at RIC is the right idea in the right place at the right time,” said Rhode Island College President Jack Warner. “We are grateful to Congressman Langevin and our state leaders for recognizing Rhode Island College as an engine for the state’s workforce development and an anchor institution for our economic future. We will be at the forefront of developing the highly skilled tech workforce that our state needs to remain competitive in the global economy.”