"The GenCyber program provides summer cybersecurity camp experiences for students and teachers at the K-12 level. The goals of the program are to increase interest in cybersecurity careers and diversity in the cybersecurity workforce of the nation, help all students understand correct and safe on-line behavior and how they can be good digital citizens, and improve teaching methods for delivery of cybersecurity content in K-12 curricula. " -- from gen-cyber.com, the official website for the GenCyber program
GenCyber's mission is to grow the number of students studying cybersecurity in the United States. The program includes summer camps across the nation designed for elementary, middle, and high school students, and teachers. The camps focus on engaging the learners with sound cybersecurity principles and teaching techniques.
The GenCyber program operates on 3 primary goals:
Increase interest in cybersecurity careers and diversity in the cybersecurity workforce of the Nation.
Help all students understand correct and safe on-line behavior.
Improve teaching methods for delivering cybersecurity content for K-12 programs.
The GenCyber camps are open to all student and teacher participants at no cost. Funding is provided jointly by the National Security Agency and the National Science Foundation.
The very first GenCyber camp was opened on UTC campus in June 2019. It was a camp for high school teachers and lasted five days. The Program Director for the 2019 Teacher Camp is Dr. Li Yang. Dr. Mengjun Xie served as the Lead Instructor.