EVALUATING A FOUNDATIONAL PROGRAM FOR CYBERSECURITY EDUCATION: A PILOT STUDY OF A 'CYBER BRIDGE' INITIATIVE
Abstract
The escalating demand for cybersecurity professionals significantly outpaces the supply of qualified talent, creating a critical skills gap in the global workforce. Traditional educational pathways often require extensive computer science backgrounds, limiting access for individuals from diverse academic disciplines. To address this, specialized "bridge" programs have emerged, designed to equip non-traditional candidates with foundational knowledge necessary to pursue advanced cybersecurity studies or careers. This article presents a pilot evaluation of one such 'Cyber Bridge' initiative, examining its effectiveness in preparing participants from varied academic backgrounds for entry into the cybersecurity field. Through a mixed-methods approach involving pre- and post-assessments, participant surveys, and tracking of progression outcomes, the study evaluated the program's impact on foundational cybersecurity knowledge, technical skill acquisition, and perceived career readiness. Preliminary results indicate significant improvements in participants' understanding of core cybersecurity concepts and practical abilities, along with high levels of satisfaction and successful transitions to advanced programs or relevant employment. While acknowledging the pilot nature and scale, the findings underscore the vital role of 'cyber bridge' programs in diversifying and expanding the cybersecurity talent pipeline, offering a viable model for workforce development.
Keywords
References
Similar Articles
- Bagus Candra, Minh Thu Nguyen, A Comprehensive Evaluation Of Shekar: An Open-Source Python Framework For State-Of-The-Art Persian Natural Language Processing And Computational Linguistics , International Journal of Advanced Artificial Intelligence Research: Vol. 2 No. 10 (2025): Volume 02 Issue 10
- Prof. Michael T. Edwards, ENHANCING AI-CYBERSECURITY EDUCATION: DEVELOPMENT OF AN AI-BASED CYBERHARASSMENT DETECTION LABORATORY EXERCISE , International Journal of Advanced Artificial Intelligence Research: Vol. 2 No. 02 (2025): Volume 02 Issue 02
- Marcus T. Feldman, RECONSTRUCTING TRUST IN RFID INFRASTRUCTURES: A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF SECURITY, PRIVACY, AND AUTHENTICATION IN CONTEMPORARY RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION SYSTEMS , International Journal of Advanced Artificial Intelligence Research: Vol. 3 No. 02 (2026): Volume 03 Issue 02
- Michael Andrew Thornton, Designing and Evaluating Low Latency Web APIs for High Transaction and Industrial Internet Systems: Architectural, Methodological, and Socio Technical Perspectives , International Journal of Advanced Artificial Intelligence Research: Vol. 3 No. 01 (2026): Volume 03 Issue 01
- Nourhan F. Abdelrahman, Miguel Torres, CRAFTING DUAL-IDENTITY FACE IMPERSONATIONS USING GENERATIVE ADVERSARIAL NETWORKS: AN ADVERSARIAL ATTACK METHODOLOGY , International Journal of Advanced Artificial Intelligence Research: Vol. 1 No. 01 (2024): Volume 01 Issue 01
- Dr. Lukas Reinhardt, Next-Generation Security Operations Centers: A Holistic Framework Integrating Artificial Intelligence, Federated Learning, and Sustainable Green Infrastructure for Proactive Threat Mitigation , International Journal of Advanced Artificial Intelligence Research: Vol. 2 No. 09 (2025): Volume 02 Issue 09
- Lucas Meyer, Transactional Resilience in Banking Microservices: A Comparative Study of Saga and Two-Phase Commit for Distributed APIs , International Journal of Advanced Artificial Intelligence Research: Vol. 2 No. 08 (2025): Volume 02 Issue 08
- Michael Andersson, Optimizing Continuous Schema Evolution and Zero-Downtime Microservices in Enterprise Data Architectures , International Journal of Advanced Artificial Intelligence Research: Vol. 3 No. 01 (2026): Volume 03 Issue 01
- Dr. Jonathan K. Pierce, Modern Data Lakehouse Architectures: Integrating Cloud Warehousing, Analytics, and Scalable Data Management , International Journal of Advanced Artificial Intelligence Research: Vol. 2 No. 12 (2025): Volume 02 Issue 12
- Elena Volkova, Emily Smith, INVESTIGATING DATA GENERATION STRATEGIES FOR LEARNING HEURISTIC FUNCTIONS IN CLASSICAL PLANNING , International Journal of Advanced Artificial Intelligence Research: Vol. 2 No. 04 (2025): Volume 02 Issue 04
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.