Cybersecurity Programs In High Demand With International Students
FREDERICTON – Lead professors at the Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity (CIC) say that demand for cybersecurity programs remains high, but are unsure how online learning will impact the province’s sector.
Jobs in cybersecurity remain in demand in the province and nationally, particularly with Fredericton establishing itself as a worldwide leader in cybersecurity.
At the CIC, there are cybersecurity specializations offered to undergraduate students, a master’s program in cybersecurity, as well as short-term programs for management outside of academia.
The Master of Science in Applied Cybersecurity program demand for entry is very high with large demand from international students.
“The number of applications that we have received [for the September program] is over 100 and we expect that to increase before the deadline,” said Dr. Ali Ghorbani, director of the CIC and a Tier 1 Chair of Cybersecurity. “We’re thinking probably one of every four applications will receive admission from us.”
The program, which was approved by the Maritime Higher Education Council in May of 2020, provides students with advanced knowledge of cybersecurity.
Most of the interest in the program comes from international students, who participate in the program virtually.
Dr. Ghorbani says that in his experience working in STEM programs, he has seen a very high retention rate on students who came to Canada to study.
Now that classes are conducted online and international students do not have to come to Canada to study, he admits there is concern whether there will be interest in immigrating to Canada to work upon graduation.
“This is a case where I think we all have to be very careful about that,” said Dr. Ghorbani. “Some students may not step foot into Canada. I hope it doesn’t happen and I hope it doesn’t become a norm, but it could be the way it is.”
While the demand for the graduate program is high, domestically the number is low. Dr. Ghorbani says they are working on making the graduate problem attractive to domestic students, but they are hard to convince because of the thriving job market in the cybersecurity sector.
“We have to consider that when the job market is very good, graduate program demand is low,” said Dr. Ghorbani. “Right now, the job market is very good and that’s why it’s hard to convince domestic students within Canada to enter the Master’s program because they are offered full-time jobs with $75,000 [salaries] upon graduation.”
Despite the challenges of attracting domestic talent, professors in the CIC are happy to provide education online to students who may not have been able to access the program in other circumstances.
“We can use this model of online teaching to deliver our content all across the globe, even in those remote countries where they don’t have resources to come to Canada due to their financial circumstances,” said Dr. Saqib Hakak.
Dr. Ghorbani agrees that online learning in this program has been beneficial to the students and has been a seamless transition due to the online nature of the subject matter.
“You can see that online learning has a tremendous effect on quality and in my opinion, has actually created better communication between students and professors because online communication has changed the culture of the student-professor relationship,” added Dr. Ghorbani.
Other programs from the CIC include the new BRICKS program, which provides students with a four-month internship along with employment at the end of the program.
The CIC’s Cybersecurity 101 program that is offered to businesses, government, and other organizations has also pivoted to online education and has been providing three-to-five-day online training to other groups across the country instead of staying local.
“In all fields, there are positive things that happen as a result of moving online,” said Dr. Ghorbani. “The issue is really difficult for the community and everyone, but positive things can come out.”
Liam Floyd is a reporter for Huddle. Send him story suggestions: [email protected].