Registration is now open for NW Cyber Camp 2018. The cybersecurity camp, sponsored by PacStar, is a week-long summer camp designed to give students hands-on, introductory experience to cybersecurity principles and policies. NW Cyber Camp, formerly known as PDX Cyber Camp, has expanded to five simultaneous camps, including a girls-only camp, that will be held in five separate locations throughout Oregon during the week of July 16 through July 20.
Taught by leading industry professionals and cybersecurity educators, the cybersecurity camps will teach cybersecurity principles, help students gain confidence and learn valuable skills, and prepare them for a future career in technology. The girls-only camp will feature female guest speakers and instructors to provide an inclusive and tailored program for young women interested in STEM careers.
“With the increase in cyber attacks and data breaches across the country, cybersecurity continues to be one of today’s hottest technology career paths,” said Charlie Kawasaki, chief technology officer of PacStar (Pacific Star Communications, Inc.) and co-founder of NW Cyber Camp. “In fact, there is a critical shortage of trained cybersecurity professionals. Oregon has more than 3,000 unfilled cybersecurity job openings and there are approximately 285,000 unfilled cybersecurity job openings in the U.S. By encouraging our youth to pursue future careers in cybersecurity, we are enabling a win-win scenario for these students as well as the companies that will benefit from their expertise.”
NW Cyber Camp 2018 is designed for students interested in learning about cybersecurity, but who do not have experience or prior training in this field. Camps will include guest speakers from industry-leading companies—such as IBM, McAfee, Iovation and Cylance—who have deep experience in cybersecurity fields and insight into careers in cybersecurity in IT security, network security, and software engineering. There will be an evening networking reception on Thursday, July 19 where students and parents can talk one-to-one with local cybersecurity professionals and businesses to discuss career opportunities and potential internships.
“PacStar continues to be a proud supporter of this year’s NW Cyber Camp and we’re actively involved in ensuring the ongoing success of the girls-only camp. We believe that it is extremely important to encourage and inspire young women to participate in STEM-oriented education and pursue careers in technology,” said Peggy Miller, chief executive officer of PacStar. “We’ve also been extremely pleased over the years to see the strong growth of the camp and its expansion into new regions throughout Oregon which will allow more students to receive this valuable training. As a leader in advanced communications systems, PacStar understands how important cybersecurity is for our own customers’ safety and security because their lives depend on highly secure equipment and systems.”
Students interested in learning more about this cybersecurity and the many exciting career opportunities in this growing field are encouraged to apply early before the camps fill up at nwcyber.camp. NW Cyber Camp 2018 is co-ed and will take place at Central Oregon Community College in Bend.
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