The Commonwealth Cyber Initiative in Southwest Virginia creates “ladders” in the form of research and innovation-focused programs to help graduate students pursue careers in cybersecurity.
By Kelly Izlar
Southwest Virginia students in security-related fields are climbing their own routes into the cybersecurity workforce with help from Commonwealth Cyber Initiative programs and resources. Graphic by Kathy Acosta for Virginia Tech.
Graduate school can feel like a game of Chutes and Ladders.
Many Southwest Virginia students in security-related fields are lapping their peers by engaging with Commonwealth Cyber Initiative programs that provide ladders toward future careers.
“The Centre for Quantum Technologies is definitely one of the places where I’d like to continue my research after my Ph.D.,” said Akshay Bansal, a graduate student in computer science who spent three months researching with a quantum information theory group in Singapore. “My dream job would entail a balance of research and teaching, which I think are two sides of the same coin.”
