PNW Awarded Fed Grant to Urge Cybersecurity Education

PNW has campuses in Hammond and Westville

Three Purdue University Northwest faculty members have received a $205,000 federal grant from the National Security Agency to help guide high school students towards a career in cybersecurity.

The PNW team will develop a series of web-based, interactive cybersecurity games for students in kindergarten through high school.

The grant will feature a collaboration among faculty members in the university’s College of Technology and College of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences

The Purdue Northwest participants are Michael Tu, professor of computer information technology; Ge Jin, professor of computer information technology and graphics; and Yueqi Zhang, associate professor of communication and creative arts.

Tu said the activities will feature practical, game-based learning.

“As part of a national K-12 cybersecurity education initiative, this project is expected to inspire more K-12 students’ interests in cybersecurity education and introduce more students into the pipeline of the future cybersecurity workforce to fill the ever-increasing national demand,” said Tu. 

The PNW team says the project will include phases in market research, visualization and programming during this year.