Funding helps cybersecurity course access
Lockheed Martin recently announced that it has secured funding to increase student access to cybersecurity courses.
In partnership with Project Lead the Way, Lockheed Martin has $250,000 in grant support to implement the project’s courses in the surrounding high schools of the aerospace’s facilities in the nation, including the Antelope Valley, the company announced Dec. 7.
Project Lead the Way President and Chief Executive Officer Vince Bertram said that Lockheed Martin has helped the project unlock the potential of millions of students all across the country for more than a decade.
“Lockheed Martin’s continued generosity and support has helped bring Project Lead The Way Programs, including computer science and cybersecurity, to life by building a strong foundation for students to succeed in college, career, and beyond,” he said.
Since 2007, Lockheed Martin has partnered with the project to address the nation’s critical need for future engineers, computer scientists, and math- and science-trained professionals, and to equip all students with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive.
This course by Project Lead the Way introduces the tools and concepts of cybersecurity and encourages students to create solutions that allow people to share comput
ing resources while protecting privacy. It also raises students’ knowledge of and commitment to ethical computing behavior and aims to develop students’ skills as consumers, friends, citizens, and employees who can effectively contribute to communities with a dependable cybersecurity infrastructure that moves and processes information safely.
“Learning how to protect networks and data within an ethical framework is critical to the future of work and national security,” Lockheed Martin Vice President Matthew Swibel said. “Our partnership with PLTW expands the opportunity for more students to attain cybersecurity knowledge and see meaningful connections between the classroom and workplace.”
The courses are designed to engage students in grades 9-12 in real-world activities aligned with careers in the growing cybersecurity field.
The grants will increase access to hands-on computer science learning experiences for hundreds of high school students for the 2021-2022 school year.
They will support cybersecurity implementation with one additional computer science course of each school’s choosing.
Schools interested in applying for the grant can do so at www.pltw.org/ exper i ence- pl tw/ funding-and-grant-opportunities