Arizona is building stronger pathways into cybersecurity careers through a partnership led by SRI and the Center for the Future of Arizona With funding from the National Science Foundation, the Arizona Cyber Pathways Research-Practice Partnership brings together Sunnyside Unified School District, Pima Community College, the University of Arizona, and the nonprofit AZ Cyber Initiative to identify the skills needed for entry-level cybersecurity roles and to align high school and college pathways to build them so students graduate with the skills they need to succeed.
Cybersecurity careers offer strong wages and growing opportunity, but obtaining an entry-level position in the field can be challenging. The initial work of the RPP focuses on identifying core competencies for cybersecurity roles and identifying course sequences, aligned to the NICE workforce framework for cybersecurity, that support skill development beginning in high school. Grounded in the culturally and linguistically rich context of Southern Arizona, the partnership emphasizes pathway design that supports a broad pipeline of talent prepared to protect the state from cyber threats. Through cycles of research and development, the partnership aims to develop a shared model for preparing students for cybersecurity careers across high school, college, and workforce systems.
This work is supported via funds from a mid-phase Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
Project Directors: Kyra Caspary and Hui Yang