Elly Yates-Roberts |
Microsoft India has collaborated with ICT Academy to launch CyberShikshaa for Educators, an initiative to train 400 faculty members across 100 institutions with cybersecurity skills.
The programme will skill faculty and higher education students from rural engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telengana, Assam, Uttarakhand, Delhi NCR and Rajasthan.
Trained faculty and ICT facilitators will then go on to prepare 6,000 students for a career in cybersecurity, with Microsoft and ICT Academy helping to facilitate job placement opportunities and internships for over 1,500 students.
“As the cybersecurity threat landscape becomes more complex, investing in cybersecurity skilling and preparing the next generation of security leaders has become more important than ever,” said Kate Behncken, vice president and lead of Microsoft Philanthropies. “India is estimated to have 1.5 million job vacancies in cybersecurity by 2025. The CyberShikshaa for Educators initiative is a significant step towards creating a vibrant and diverse cybersecurity talent pool in India. Our intent is to take cybersecurity skilling to the grassroots and empower both educators and students with the skills needed to thrive in a digital economy.”
The programme has been designed to ensure higher participation of women educators and women graduating students from rural locations.
“With the growing demand for women cybersecurity professionals in India, closing the demand-supply gap is the need of the hour,” said Hari Balachandran, ICT Academy CEO. ICT Academy is on a mission to prepare youth for the future of work and is glad to partner with Microsoft in empowering educators and women in the cybersecurity domain.
“Often, the lack of technical training or formal certifications is the barrier for any woman to begin a career in cybersecurity. Reaching out to rural students, creating awareness among women and helping them learn and qualify at their convenience will create more aspirants and generate more women professionals in the field. Particularly, empowering educators will create a sustainable impact in developing skilled professionals.”
Microsoft first launched CyberShikshaa in 2018 in collaboration with Data Security Council of India. It then worked with TATA Strive to expand the initiative in 2021. To date, more than 1,100 women have received technical cybersecurity training with mentorship from industry experts.