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The Information Technology and Infrastructure Management (ITIM) program at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology Shelbyville was recognized as a resource to assist with election related cyber security issues at the Multi-State Information Sharing & Analysis Center’s (MS-ISAC) Annual conference in Denver, Colorado in early May. Steve Mallard, Master Instructor of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology Shelbyville attended the conference with James Cotter, Cyber Agent with the TN Department of Safety and Homeland Security.
TCAT Shelbyville’s ITIM program has been partnering with the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security for over a decade. Agent James Cotter has provided the ITIM program multiple opportunities to demonstrate the skills and knowledge of the faculty and students of TCAT Shelbyville by working on live projects such as conducting analysis of suspicious ‘gifted’ USBs from overseas travel, training military and law enforcement personnel across the state on the topic of cybersecurity, using fixed wing and quad drones (proof of concept) to maliciously gather wi-fi and network information. TCAT Shelbyville’s partnerships have provided opportunities to work with private industry, federal partners, and the TN Department of Safety and Homeland Security to protect our state and national critical infrastructure located in Tennessee.
Since 2012, the program has helped to bring over 500 IT professionals and the industry’s leading speakers and representatives from across the globe to Middle Tennessee Cyber Summit at Middle Tennessee State University annually. Working with the TN Department of Safety and Homeland Security, other government partners and private industry, the ITIM program designs and facilitates an annual capture the flag at the event. The ITIM program was also asked to bring the summit to Memphis to train industry professionals and did so in 2017. Instructor Mallard has also spoken and given cyber security demonstrations at each event.
During the second week of May of this year, lead instructor Steve Mallard gave a presentation at the Homeland Security and Preparedness (HSP) Symposium held at the DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA) and Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies in Washington, DC. The presentation track was geared towards Cyber Security, Intelligence and Information Sharing, Continuity of Operations Planning, Critical Infrastructure and Long-term Risk Reduction.
Over the years, the ITIM program at Shelbyville has been recognized by Computerworld as a Laureate in 2012 (Learning Innovation), received the CTE “Excellence in Action” award and TechTarget’s Innovation leadership award, attended the White House "Celebrating Innovations in Career and Technical Education", was recognized by the US Department of Education Office of Career Education (OCTAE) and was recognized for excellence, dedication, and leadership in Career Technical Education, Mallard testified before TACIR (Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations) for broadband needs in Higher Education, and testified before the National Academies of Science-Engineering and Medicine on “Strengthening the Disaster Resilience of Academic Research Communities”, the program was recognized by the TN State Governor’s Office and TN Department of Homeland Security. The program’s’ technical blog was recognized as being in the top EdTech “Top 50 Educational Blogs” and the ITIM program was recognized by SC Magazine as being one of the top five Cyber Security Programs in the nation in 2018. The program also was featured in a case study by CompTIA (Computer Technology Industry Association)
As the Information Technology and Infrastructure program at Shelbyville continues to grow, a cyber security center is being planned for the demand to house and control the amount of ‘live’ cyber security projects and work the students and faculty process.
With a placement rate of 97% and a completion rate of 83%, employers reach out to the faculty of the program for cyber security and other IT jobs before students graduate the program. The program currently is available at TCAT Shelbyville’s main and MTEC campuses. The program will soon be expanded to dual enrollment at the Spot Lowe campus in Lewisburg and at a location Lincoln county.
"The success of our ITIM graduates is in direct relation to the outstanding partnerships with industry partners across the state and our nation. I appreciate Mr. Mallard's commitment to the rigor and relevance of the ITIM program, to maintaining these industry relationships, and to locating live work opportunities for students. This is what makes our program stand-out from other IT college programs. " ~ Laura Monks, President TCAT Shelbyville
