Research & Sponsored Programs Report ResearchAnnual201819-electronic | Page 16

UWF embraces leadership role
as Cybersecurity Regional Resource Center
Since being designated in 2017
as the Center of Academic
Excellence
Cybersecurity
Regional Resource Center for
the Southeast by the National
Security Agency and Department
of
Homeland
Security,
the
University of West Florida Center
for Cybersecurity has continued
to show leadership in the rapidly
evolving field.
“We’re one of nine regional hubs
across the country, and it really
provides the opportunity for us
to not only build high-quality
programs at UWF but take a
leadership role in working with
colleges and universities across
the Southeast region to advance
cybersecurity more broadly,” said
Dr. Eman El-Sheikh, director of the
UWF Center for Cybersecurity.
UWF serves as the Cybersecurity
Regional Resource Center for
all colleges and universities in
Florida,
Georgia,
Mississippi,
Alabama, South Carolina and
Puerto Rico.
El-Sheikh said in its role as re-
gional hub, UWF helps other insti-
tutions of higher learning become
Centers of Academic Excellence
by providing mentoring and
support. UWF also provides
professional development to col-
leges and universities across the
Southeast so that faculty stay up
to date with the changing field.
professional development ses-
sions in which educators from
across the Southeast shared their
expertise with other faculty. The
conference also provided faculty
opportunity to explore collabora-
tive research and grants.
“We also want to build a commu-
nity of expertise across the region
so that we can share resources
and build innovative solutions uti-
lizing collaborative approaches,”
El-Sheikh said. In April 2019, the UWF Center
for Cybersecurity will host the
NSA/DHS Centers of Academic
Excellence Executive Leadership
Forum on Pensacola Beach,
which is intended for executive
leaders across academia, industry
and government, including col-
lege and university presidents,
industry CEOs, chief information
officers, corporate information
security officers and federal and
state government leaders.
In July 2018, the UWF Center
for
Cybersecurity
hosted
the
Southeast
Cybersecurity
Conference in Orlando, Florida.
The two-day conference included “The forum will bring together
leaders from across the country
to discuss and collaborate on
strategies to advance the future
of cybersecurity,” El-Sheikh said.
The Center for Cybersecurity
also continues to host the UWF
Pathways to Cyber Program,
which offered two GenCyber
combination camps for high
school students and teachers in
June and July 2018.
Each
camp 
included
24
Top: Lecturer Anthony Pinto teaches
students during the Pathways to Cyber in the
UWF Cybersecurity Battle Lab.
Left: Tate HIgh School Levi Shaffer
participates in the Pathways to Cyber camp.
16
2018-2019 Research Annual Report