Longmeadow, MA - December 12, 2018 – Yesterday, Governor Charlie Baker visited Bay Path University to meet with professors, students, and grant partners who are leading efforts on the Mass Tech Collaborative Grant. The $250,000 grant helps foster public-private collaboration to increase the State’s readiness against cybersecurity attacks. The grant is also part of larger initiatives – the MassCyberCenter and Cybersecurity Strategy Council – created to drive efficiencies and collaboration between businesses, institutions of higher education, and the public sector in developing a talented workforce in cybersecurity.
Bay Path University is one of three organizations that received grant funding and is launching a pilot project to address the growing need for diverse, skilled cybersecurity specialists in Massachusetts. The project will enable 30 undergraduate and graduate cybersecurity students, who are primarily women, to serve as paid interns on cybersecurity teams that provide cyber assessments at reduced costs for small- and mid-sized manufacturing companies. Oftentimes, these manufacturers do not have resources to hire cybersecurity firms or industry professionals to meet the ever-changing needs of cybersecurity. Bay Path’s student interns will not only identify gaps where cyber thieves can enter a company’s system, but also recommend ways to mitigate attacks. The project also aims to place more cybersecurity talent – including women who are underrepresented in the industry – at a time when research says there are nearly 9,000 cybersecurity specialist unfilled openings in the State.
Governor Baker is the first sitting governor to visit Bay Path University and meet with President Carol A. Leary. During his time on campus, he toured Carr Hall science laboratories and met with faculty and students from Bay Path’s department of computer science and cybersecurity. He also saw some of the benefits of the life sciences grants issued to the University in 2013 and 2015.
The Mass Tech Collaborative Grant is a collaboration with five key partners: Bay Path University; Springfield Technical Community College, Paragus Strategic IT, MassHire Hampden Country Workforce Board, and the Economic Development Council of Western Mass.
About Bath Path University
Bay Path University is privately owned institution in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1897 as the Bay Path institute. Bay Path University is an all-women university that offers women the option to get an online or on-campus degree. The university has over 30 programs to help candidates work towards their bachelor, masters, and doctorate degree’s. For more information on the university check out its website (https://www.baypath.edu/) or follow its social media pages, Twitter (@Bay_Path), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/baypathuniversity/), Instagram (@Bay_Path).