Partnership to Advance Education and Training (PACET)

University at Albany, State University of New York

Funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology RAMPS Grant

The field has tremendous workforce need at all levels, and there are well-established deficits in training 

and resources for public and private-sector jobs in New York and nationally. A key challenge facing 

cybersecurity education is the gap between educational programs and the talent required by the 

industry. Dual consequences of this are graduates not finding jobs and the unfulfilled demand in the 

industry remaining. Th Partnership to Advance Education and Training (PACET), through 

collaborative effort among partners in government, industry, and academia in conjunction with NIST, 

has strengthened the educational pipeline, to advance access to, and student workforce success in, 

New York’s Capital Region. This area has unique workforce potential, with its range of higher 

education institutions and STEM graduates, and growing advanced technology sectors. PACET has 

also helped bridge the gap between education and industry needs by building clarified educational 

ladders, and workforce capacity regionally for a range of potential careers in cybersecurity, based on 

industry needs. 

The partnership was built on existing relationships, forged through collaborations and common 

interests. In 2013, UAlbany developed curricula alignment and articulation agreements with HVCC 

and SCCC to facilitate transfer of community college students to UAlbany’s new Digital Forensics 

program. Several funded projects for pedagogical innovation in cybersecurity have supported NIST’s

efforts to develop high-quality hands-on education at UAlbany that is well aligned with industry needs. 

In 2013, UAlbany worked with its community college partners on NSF SaTC grant number 1318483 

EDU: Flipping the Online Security Classroom – Improving Retention of Security Student Pipeline Through Early 

Intervention, to improve the retention of information security students through flipped online lectures 

and shared curriculum, and experiments designed to measure their effectiveness. For example, 

UAlbany through a grant from SUNY built a platform to provide virtual laboratory resources for our 

regional Community College partner institutions, creating synergy with other colleges and better 

preparing students moving from community colleges to join 4-year programs. 

The NICE Cybersecuriy Workforce Framework was used as a foundational rubric in establishing 

regional commonality in education, training, and workforce needs. UAlbany started the BS in Digital 

Forensics program in 2013, and then mapped its program to the NICE Framework, and encouraged 

programmatic mapping among partner, and other regional educational providers. The mapping 

provided a common reference point for students, employers, and all stakeholders. Through this 

mapping, gaps in education, training and certification resources were identified (moving from 

Categories through Specialty Areas and KSAs) and addressed among PACET partners. The NICE 

Framework was used as a guide for the project’s multi-level development of workstation activities, 

case studies, and skill-building exercises in UAlbany’s Cyber Innovation Lab for training programs 

and workshops. 

PACET has leveraged the NIST Workforce Framework to bring clarity to workforce needs in the 

Capital Region; streamline and map educational and training programs; provide regional cohesion and 

outreach about internship and job opportunities; and develop new opportunities through education 

and training (internships and camps) to bolster workforce capacity regionally. Through these 

initiatives UAlbany has established itself as a hub for cybersecurity education and training – providing 

leadership in the Capital District. Several initiatives were undertaken as a part of this work, as outlined 

below. 
As a first step, an advisory board was established, which included representatives from our partner 

institutions, local colleges, regional planning commissions, and from local firms and New York State 

government. The PACET Cybersecurity Advisory Board has helped to assess and review our work, 

and provide guidance on curricular changes, creating internship pipelines, and helping to streamline 

student hiring practices. This board has attracted several major firms from the Capital District and has 

become a strong conduit to internships and full time jobs for cybersecurity graduates. The role of the 

board includes providing assessments of the content and quality of the curriculum as necessary; 

offering guidance on the skillsets needed in the public and private sector in the region; supporting the 

Cyber Innovation Competition, including judging the competition, mentoring teams, critiquing 

business plans, and promoting the event; helping connect and collect data from regional firms; support 

interships and final placements of students. 

UAlbany curricula was mapped against the NICE Workforce Framework. Partner colleges were

encouraged to map their programs as well, so that any regional gaps could be identified, and 

addressed, through UAlbany programs. We worked with our partner community colleges to help them 

map their curricula to the NICE Framework, resulting in changes to curriculum across institutions in 

the Capital District. UAlbany’s revisions to the curriculum culminated in the UAlbany Digital 

Forensics program being designated as a Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense education 

by the NSA. To meet the educational needs in cybersecurity, the university designed a new 1-year MS 

program in Digital Forensics, which was approved by the New York State Department of Education 

in summer 2019. 

A regional Workforce Assessment Survey was conducted, to gather detailed information regarding 

regional cybersecurity workforce capacity and needs. The survey included regional firms from a range 

of industries, as well as firms that recruit from the Northeast (at UAlbany and NY State Information 

Technology Services). For local firms, we leveraged connections with the Chambers of Commerce 

and Regional Economic Development Councils. Our initial response rate for data collection was low,

however, using personal connections we were able to gather enough data to get a more comprehensive 

view of the needs of the Capital District. This provided insight into future curriculum development 

and placement of our students. 

One of our key initiatives was to create a pipeline of students from tCyberExplorers, a weeklong day 

camp, which was offered in the summer of 2017. It was free of charge to accepted students from 

local high schools. Our goal was to provide inner city children with cybersecurity exposure and

knowledge. A bus service was provided to ensure that transportation did not become a bottleneck for 

the students. The results of the program were mixed; some students found it too advanced while 

others found it engaging and rewarding. In subsequent years, we have combined this with the NYS 

Conference as a half-day event for middle and high school students. We are planning a one-day event 

in October for high school students as one of the events in the National Cybersecurity Awareness 

Month. 

We have also organized professional training for executives and management during the NYS 

Conference, with strong reviews. In conjunction with local industry, we launched a series of lunch 

sessions for regional executives to to provide guidance on how to make risk-based decisions for 

cybersecurity. These sessions are planned by the Cybersecurity Advisory Board, and each firm takes a 

turn in sponsoring a talk. 
A key outcome of our efforts at streamlining the curriculum, building bridges with the industry, and 

setting up the Cybersecurity Advisory Board is improved placement for our students, and industry

satisfaction with the quality of our students. We started cyber-specific job fairs in the spring of 2018,

through our Advisory Board, and have held one each semester since. Thanks to these fairs, we have a 

100% placement of students from the program and the firms coming to the event have been constantly 

increasing, including the Center for Internet Security, New York State ITS, GreyCastle, Secure 

Decisions, NYISO, PWC, NYSTEC, General Electric, MVP Health Services, Rational Enterprises, 

Xchangeworx, Albany Medical Center, and MVP Healthcare.