sponsorship

IT security professionals are on the front line in defending our nation's corporate, government and academic IT infrastructures. This makes them one of the nation's most valuable resources. However, in the past, there has not been an effective way to benchmark the skills of IT security students until they had graduated and entered the workforce.

The Midwest Regional Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition offers a systematic approach to assessing IT security professional skills, while students still attend colleges and universities in the Midwest region. The competition allows student teams to exhibit their skills in an intensive two-day exercise and receive a debriefing by a professional red team from the Cyber Defense Agency on the third day.

We are seeking corporate sponsorships to ensure the competition’s success and maintain the high quality of this program. Sponsorships help defray costs for participating educational institutions and increase the number of students entering the workforce who can be a part of this invaluable experience. We also are seeking industry professionals to serve as judges, exercise designers and general support staff.

As a corporate sponsor, you’ll:

• Save thousands of dollars in recruiting fees by observing potential employees “in action” and assessing their skills in a realistic setting.
• Save valuable time, by not interviewing potential employees who lack the skills and enthusiasm your company expects.
• Interact with student participants in a meaningful way by serving as a judge or by providing scenario expertise.
• Allow potential employees to find out more about your company.

The Midwest Regional Collegiate Cyber Defense Exercise supports IT security preparedness in a way no other program can. It encourages students and faculty to excel in the latest emerging IT security technologies. It also helps shorten the 12-16 month gap which often occurs between the time students graduate until they become completely integrated into the commercial sector. Shortening this gap helps build a workforce that will thrive in a globally competitive market.

This competition benefits students by testing their security skills against other talented student teams. Participating schools benefit by getting practical feedback about the effectiveness of their current information assurance course offerings. Industry members benefit by getting a chance to meet and evaluate the skills of the next generation of security professionals.

Please consider sponsoring this one-of-a-kind program and help build the 21st century IT security workforce.