A new generation of cyber experts trains to tackle the next generation of cyber threats

BROOKLYN, New York, Tuesday, September 3, 2019 – C-suite executives from some of the most recognized and respected firms and government institutions on August 30 will welcome a new class of students in NYU Tandon School of Engineering’s pioneering graduate-level online cybersecurity program.

The NYU Cyber Fellows program — designed by NYU Tandon in partnership with these institutions and the New York City Cyber Command (NYC3) — offers scholarships that result in one of the lowest-cost online master’s degrees in the country and develops highly skilled technical graduates ready to step into the growing cybersecurity gap.           

The welcome reception, attracting students from across the country, will give entering Cyber Fellows an opportunity to meet many of the advisory council members and hear about the internship, research, and career opportunities at their institutions. NYU Tandon enrolled 160 new Cyber Fellows for the fall semester, and it expects to significantly increase enrollment in future years as it responds to the  200,000 unfilled jobs nationwide. The shortfall is expected to climb to 1.8 million worldwide by 2022.

Eighteen percent of the new Cyber Fellows identified themselves as Hispanic — more than double the percentage enrolled in all engineering master’s degree programs nationally (8 percent, according to the American Society for Engineering Education) and those working in computing and mathematics (7 percent, according to the Brookings Institution).

This year, Bridgewater Associates will fund scholarships to 10 Cyber Fellows from groups underrepresented in computer science. Cyber Fellows pay no more than $16,000 for the entire master’s degree tuition, and the Bridgewater Scholarships halve that, to no more than $8,000. This will be the second year that Bridgewater, a global leader in institutional portfolio management and the largest hedge fund in the world, will support the NYU Tandon scholarship program.

“One of the most important elements of the NYU Cyber Fellows program is the collaboration with influential employers to ensure students get the precise cybersecurity education they need,” said Professor Nasir Memon, founder of NYU Tandon’s cybersecurity program and vice dean for academics and student affairs. “The NYU Cyber Fellows work on real-world problems and get unprecedented access to elite employers.”

Ten new C-level security experts have joined the NYU Cyber Fellows Advisory Council, whose members meet regularly with faculty, staff, students, and other industry influencers on workforce development needs and to help shape NYU Tandon cybersecurity programs. The new advisors:

• Federal Reserve System Executive Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Devon Bryan
• Ernst & Young EY Americas Cybersecurity Leader Dave Burg
• TIAA Financial Management CISO Tim Byrd
• Aflac CISO Tim Callahan
• New York City Department of Education CISO Richard Cocchiara
• ConEdison Information Technology Director Mikhail Falkovich
• Royal Bank of Canada’s U.S. Information Security Officer Stacey Romanello
• MassMutual CISO Jim Routh
• AIG Chief Technology Officer - Investments, Data, and Corporate Functions Salvatore Saieva
• Goldman Sachs Board Director and Senior Advisor (Risk and Cybersecurity) Phil Venables

They join founding members of the advisory council:

• JP Morgan Chase Executive Director, Head of Data Protection Technology Omkar Arasaratnam
• Intel Business Development Manager, Director Security Academic Ecosystem David Bills
• Morgan Stanley Global CISO Gerrard Brady
• New York City CISO and Head of NYC3 Geoff Brown
• US Bank Vice President Cybersecurity Workforce Development Executive Murray Kenyon
• Booz Allen Hamilton Senior Vice President Anil Markose
• T. Rowe Price CISO Tom Quinn
• Jefferies Managing Director, CISO, and Chief Technology Officer Ramin Safai
• Bank of America Vice President, Workforce Strategy Rick Scot
• Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation CISO Kylie Watson

Among the unique features of the NYU Cyber Fellows program are access to NYC3’s Cyber Range — a virtual training network designed to prepare students to respond to real-life threats in real-time — and a free five-year subscription to audit the newest versions of the online courses that graduates took as NYU Cyber Fellows — important because coursework typically updates every semester, as new threats emerge. The program is structured as a part-time curriculum to accommodate working professionals.

For more information, visit engineering.nyu.edu/ny-cyber-fellowship. For those without an engineering baccalaureate degree, NYU Tandon offers its groundbreaking Bridge to Tandon to qualified NYU Cyber Fellows applicants. It provides the foundation they need to apply to a master’s degree program in cybersecurity — within 26 weeks, with online flexibility, at a cost of just $1,500.

Note: Images available at https://nyutandon.photoshelter.com/galleries/C0000DKT3j1lAvpA/G00003i6GkxrBd9M/Cyber-Fellows-Cohort-2

About the New York University Tandon School of Engineering

The NYU Tandon School of Engineering dates to 1854, the founding date for both the New York University School of Civil Engineering and Architecture and the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute (widely known as Brooklyn Poly). A January 2014 merger created a comprehensive school of education and research in engineering and applied sciences, rooted in a tradition of invention and entrepreneurship and dedicated to furthering technology in service to society. In addition to its main location in Brooklyn, NYU Tandon collaborates with other schools within NYU, one of the country’s foremost private research universities, and is closely connected to engineering programs at NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Shanghai. It operates Future Labs focused on start-up businesses in downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn and an award-winning online graduate program. For more information, visit http://engineering.nyu.edu.