The first blog post of February 2024 here at Turner Business reported on a visit with TSYS Schools Nexus cybersecurity students by Joseph Blankenship and Jess Burn, Vice President and Principal Analyst, respectively, at Forrester Research, an Atlanta-based research and advisory firm. Shortly after that visit, Burn (pictured at left) and Blankenship penned their own blog about their experiences during that visit. In their blog, Burn and Blankenship describe the cybersecurity Nexus program as a one-year certificate program designed to give students of all ages and backgrounds an intensive and hands-on learning experience that will prepare them for careers in fintech. They add that the students are taught by former practitioners and have the opportunity to earn security certifications and participate in live fire exercises in a cyber range, both in addition to earning a cybersecurity Nexus degree. Local companies Global Payments and Synovus are mentioned as backers of the program. Burn and Blankenship also credit (1) the cyber range featured in CSU’s cybersecurity Nexus program from Cyberbit, which offers a higher-ed-specific version of its full cybersecurity skills and training platform, and (2) Patrick Aiken, Director of the TSYS Center for Cybersecurity, who indicated that 27 graduates of the program have been hired since the program's inception three years ago. Lastly, the executives nicely summarized their visit, stating "Our time with the CSU Cybersecurity Nexus Program students and staff was incredibly inspiring. These students are excited to be in the program, eager for a challenge, and preparing themselves for a future role built on a foundation of practical experience. Be it through a degree or certification program at a local college, an online university, or direct access to labs and ranges, practical and continual upskilling is the future of cybersecurity skills and training."
Officials in the Turner College's Butler Center for Research and Economic Development recently put the finishing touches on an extensive report on trends in educational programs and occupations in the Columbus area. The report also includes data on business and technology trends. According to Fady Mansour , Director of the Butler Center, there are several key takeaways from the report regarding 10 occupational gaps that currently exist in the Columbus area. First, software development occupation exhibits the biggest labor shortage, with the report adding that the TSYS School has a bachelor's degree program in information technology along with a new AI track for the bachelor's degree in computer science, both of which can qualify students for this occupation. Other educational programs are in demand, such as computer programming and cloud computing. Second, there is a gap of 30 employees per year in general and operations management. This gap could be addressed by the Turn...

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