Mapua University, an engineering and technological university in Manila, tapped cybersecurity firm Sophos in offering cybersecurity courses and training for students. This comes at the heels of skills shortage in the security industry amid high profile and frequent data breaches in recent years.

The partnership aims to enhance students’ skills and knowledge of cybersecurity while helping to prepare them for a smooth transition from college to the workforce.

Sophos has been in operations for 35 years and has developed products for communication endpoint, encryption, network security, email security, and mobile security.

Have you read “Sophos looks at PH to develop, hire cybersecurity professionals”?

Through the partnership, the cybersecurity firm will be providing train-the-trainer-style education on XG Firewall which would earn Mapúa faculty members the certification to allow them to teach the courses to be embedded into the university curriculum. Upon completion, the students will have the option to obtain their own certification from Sophos through an examination.

Cybersecurity curriculum

Sophos will also be providing the hardware devices and virtual machines for Mapua’s student labs.

“We are excited to partner with Sophos to align and develop our curriculum in preparing our students for the working world,” said Dean Ariel Kelly Balan of Mapúa University’s School of Information Technology.

“As a country, we’re taking cybersecurity seriously, and it is important to us that our students are equipped with the right knowledge and skills to become valuable employees for businesses looking to protect against the evolving threat landscape.”

– Dean Ariel Kelly Balan of Mapúa University’s School of Information Technology

Mapua was founded in 1925 offers courses in engineering and sciences, architecture and design, information technology, business and management, media studies, and social sciences education.

“The cybersecurity landscape is constantly evolving and cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated every day,” said Sumit Bansal, managing director, Sophos ASEAN. “As a result, there is greater demand in the Philippines for cybersecurity professionals to keep the country safe from cyber threats as it continues its digital transformation journey. Through our partnership with Mapúa, we hope to provide greater access to the right learning tools and experts in this field, so students can further optimize their employment opportunities upon graduation.”