SFS Cyber Workshop

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Announcements

The 2008 Cyber Workshop I was held June 22-29, 2008!

• Photos are available in the Downloads section!
• Program: SFS Workshop -2008 Program

Focused Workshop on Cyber Games and Interactive Simulations

There is growing evidence that incorporating hands-on exercises, such as cyber games and interactive simulations, increases student interest in Information Assurance (IA) studies and enhances their learning experience. Cyber games are highly interactive hands-on exercises in which students are asked to build IT network infrastructures and services while managing and defending against realistic cyber attacks at the same time. Cyber games often are conducted as competitions involving teams of student participants. Interactive simulations help students understand abstract IA concepts through interactive explorations and visualizations.

Since 2004 UNC Charlotte and NC A&T have been actively developing the use of hands-on cyber games and interactive simulations as part of our IA curricula. We have observed the following benefits based on our collective experiences over the past three years:

• Students become more motivated by engaging in a challenging interactive environment based on real-world scenarios. We have enjoyed significant enrollment growth that can be attributed in part to a rigorous curriculum with substantial hands-on experiences.
• Cyber games are effective in training students to master a comprehensive set of network and system administration skills and to apply them quickly in realistic hands-on environments. Such skills are highly relevant to current practices of the IT industry. Cyber games also require teamwork coordination and offer valuable opportunities for leadership development.
• Interactive simulation software packages are helpful not only in enhancing students’ learning process, but also in encouraging students’ interest in IA education.

With the support from NSF SFS program, we offer a series of two focused faculty development workshops in order to disseminate the use of cyber games and interactive simulations in IA education and augment the capacity of current IA faculty members. (Workshop I will be held at UNC Charlotte during June 22-29, 2008, and tentative Workshop II dates are June 14-20, 2009)

The workshops are intended to target faculty members who have started an IA program and are looking to introduce more hands-on exercises into the curriculum.

• Workshop I attendees should be faculty members who are interested in IA-related courses. Attendees for Workshop II will include participants of Workshop I, or those with an equivalent background. Preference will given to those with a strong interest in, and with appropriate institutional commitment to introducing hands-on Workshop I material during the 2008-09 academic year, and Workshop II material during the 2009-10 academic year.
• In order to encourage diverse and broad participation, we encourage IA faculty members from both minority institutions and those institutions that have recently started to establish IA programs.
• Each participant will receive a stipend, six night hotel stay, and (up to $500) round trip airfare per each workshop.
• In order to guide the participants’ individual efforts to incorporate the workshop material into their IA curriculum, we will provide follow-up technical support through email, phone and online meetings throughout the project duration.