The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and National Security Agency granted for a second time the National Center for Academic Excellence for Cyber Defense Education designation to Purdue University Northwest through its College of Technology.
Purdue Northwest is one of only two Indiana institutions to receive the CAE-CDE 4Y designation, which runs through 2024, and the only one within the Purdue system.
In a letter announcing the award, NSA National CAE Program Manager Karen Leuschner said Purdue Northwest’s ability to educate a highly skilled cybersecurity workforce is a strategic national security advantage.
“Your ability to meet the increasing demands of the program criteria will serve the nation well in contributing to the protection of the National Information Infrastructure,” said Leuschner.
The designation was granted based upon the college’s B.S. in Computer Information Technology degree. With it the college can conduct further research and education in cybersecurity and infrastructure protection.
As a Center of Academic Excellence, PNW students and faculty members will be eligible to compete for National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Defense scholarships and grants.
In the previous designation period between 2014 and 2019, PNW received more than $5 million in grant awards from NSF and NSA, which funded activities such as GenCyber Summer Camps, cybersecurity awareness and career training for high school students and teachers, and student research projects.
