ANDERSON — As officials at Anderson University installed the new Cybersecurity Engineering Lab at the AU Engineering Center, they had the solid walls knocked out to add windows.
“I wanted every student on the AU campus to see what good collaboration looks like,” said Chad E. Wallace, dean of the university’s School of Science and Engineering.
The mere existence of the $1 million lab, honored with a ribbon cutting on Tuesday, is an example of collaboration and partnership with several companies, including Ascension Information Services, Dell EMC, Integration Partners and Extreme Networks.
The lab is intended to provide hands-on learning for the university’s information security, computer science and computer engineering majors. Students also will have opportunities to intern with partner companies and later become permanent employees.
Wallace said the lab came about after he was approached by Eric Miller, senior director of information technology at Ascension Information Services, or AIS. Wallace said he was most struck by the company’s stated values of service, wisdom and integrity, which matched the university’s almost to the letter.
“Our deepest desire here at AU is to have a heart to serve God and a heart to serve others,” he said. “It started to happen. We started knocking down walls.”
AU quickly is becoming the go-to school for security studies in the Midwest, adding a cybersecurity major last year to its offerings. Wallace and AU President John Pistole said it could take years, if ever, to acquire a facility like the Cybersecurity Engineering Laboratory so shortly after implementing a new program.
“It takes years, unless you have the right friends,” Wallace said.
Pistole said cybersecurity is one of the fastest-growing disciplines in both the public and private sectors, where tens of thousands of jobs go unfilled because of a lack of qualified candidates.
“This is a rare opportunity for our students, particularly in central Indiana, to be on the cutting edge of cybersecurity engineering,” he said.
The partners are counting on a high return of investment. Their participation ensures a steady stream of qualified interns and future employees.
Gerry Lewis, president of AIS, said cybersecurity is the new normal, especially where it relates to protecting patient confidentiality in health care settings. AIS is one of the largest health care information technology services organizations in the nation.
“What we’re doing here is extremely valuable to us,” he said. “One day, this very laboratory will produce some of the professionals we will recruit to work for us. Frankly, this kind of talent doesn’t grow on trees. This type of facility isn’t typical.”
Gregory Jones, vice president of engineering for AIS, said he was grateful to work for a place that gave employees the freedom and resources to follow their passions, especially when it came to finding partners who share the company’s mission and vision.
“We look forward to collaborating on curriculum ideas to make sure we are meeting employer needs,” he said.