KTU begins cyber security training
The Koforidua Technical University (KTU) has opened a cyber security centre in Koforidua in collaboration with Cyber Ghana to train students in cyber security.
The new state-of-the-art facility, established by Cyber Ghana under the National Initiative for Cyber Engineering, Science, and Technology Educational Programme (NICESTEP), would offer consultancy services on cyber security and forensics; as well as hands-on training for interested persons to pioneer artificial knowledge studies in the region.
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The Head of Computer Science Department, Dr Patricia Ghann, in an address, urged industries and individuals in the region to take advantage of the centre to acquire new and relevant skills that would give them competitive advantage; as well as protect their businesses.
That, she said, would create huge impact in and around the region in combatting cybercrime and boosting the economy by defeating issues of fraud and cybercrime.
Employment
The Assistant Project Manager of NICESTEP, Mr David Davor, in an interview, said the cyber security programme would offer employable skills to students to fill the readily available employment avenue across the world.
“Globally, there are over three million unfilled cyber security job openings. We have several students graduating every year who have no jobs available; so we want to train students to have hands-on skills in order to secure some of these available vacancies, while also protecting our cyber spaces,” he said.
Mr Davor said several institutions in Ghana, due to cyber gap analysis, had been exposed to cybercrime as there were only few persons with cyber security knowledge to deal with the alarming threats.
He added that the facility was the fourth of its kind as similar centres were inaugurated at three other technical universities in Cape Coast, Bolgatanga and Sunyani, with another set to be inaugurated at the Takoradi Technical University.
Projection
The Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the KTU, Professor David Kofi Essumang, in an interview, said the centre had been projected to train about 300 computer science students within the first course to equip them with the needed employable skills in cyber security.
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Prof. Essumang expressed the necessity for technical universities to measure their programmes along the lines of global evolution to offer solution-oriented programmes in order to build employable or self-employable graduates.
He added that the facility would help the university to build on artificial knowledge and forensic aspect of cyber security.
Appreciation
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of New Juaben South, Mr Isaac Appaw Gyasi, expressed gratitude to Cyber Ghana for pioneering the field of artificial knowledge in technical universities across the country.
He also lauded the VC for the steps made towards incorporating the artificial knowledge programme into their academic programmes.
Mr Gyasi expressed optimism that funding would be secured for some projects at the university to address some challenges facing the school in a collaborative effort with the Member of Parliament (MP) for New Juaben South, Mr Michael Okyere Baafi.