Six historically Black universities in five Southern states will be getting the first IBM cybersecurity centers aimed at training underrepresented communities, the company said.
The schools are North Carolina A&T, South Carolina State, Clark Atlanta in Georgia, Morgan State in Maryland and Xavier University in Louisiana, along with that state’s Southern University System.
"Technology-related services are in constant demand, and cybersecurity is paramount,” said Dr. Ray L. Belton, president of the Southern University System based in Baton Rouge.
The centers will give students, staff, and faculty access to modern technology, resources, and skills development, said Dr. Nikunja Swain, chair and professor of the Computer Science and Mathematics Department at South Carolina State, in Orangeburg.
It will further enhance our ongoing activities on several key areas, including cybersecurity, data science analytics, cloud computing, IOT, blockchain, design thinking, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence,” he said.
IBM said it plans more than 20 such centers at historically Black colleges and universities nationwide.
The company said each school will get customized courses and access to company academic programs. They also will be able to experience simulated but realistic cyberattacks through IBM Security’s Command Center.
The company said it also will provide faculty and students free access to multiple SaaS IBM Cloud environments.
