PROPEL, Southern Company Launch HBCU-Focused Cybersecurity Consortium

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2024 / Southern Company

PROPEL, a first-of-its-kind innovation hub for 2-year and 4-year Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), announces the launch of a pioneering cybersecurity consortium. The PROPEL HBCU Cybersecurity Consortium (HCC), created in partnership with Southern Company, was founded on the principles of collaboration, leadership, innovation and foresight.

This Consortium not only unites academia, industry and government but more importantly serves as a nucleus for HBCUs to complement their curriculums to be more industry skill aligned and agile to the ever-evolving cybersecurity landscape.

"PROPEL's consortium will set a benchmark for developing a future workforce that is well equipped to address and solve the cybersecurity needs of today and tomorrow," said chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company Chris Womack. "Leveraging the insights, tools, resources and access to real-world opportunities that industry and government entities can bring to the table now will help further develop and enrich the transformative skills our future workforce must have. These skills are essential in how we continue to protect our critical infrastructure and be better prepared to face the cyber challenges ahead."

The HCC is comprised of four pivotal elements: resource hub, professional development, accelerated learning and workforce pipeline. It is designed to facilitate connection between industry, students and faculty with the latest trends, emerging technologies, training and a collaborative space that fosters the development of new courses and opportunities. Additionally, the HCC will provide real-life, challenged-based industry projects, conduct cutting edge research, collaborate with industry leaders and experts and open pathways to employment and beyond.

"The dynamic and ever-evolving cybersecurity landscape has generated a myriad of leading career opportunities that have become critical across virtually every business sector - with a mere nine percent of those individuals being Black professionals," said PROPEL President Dr. Lisa Herring. "In partnership and collaboration with our co-founder, Southern Company, we're cracking the code in a sector that is grossly underrepresented by diverse talent and an industry in need of a greatly expanded workforce."