Ever heard of a "National Cyber Land-Grant University System"?
Neither had we. But it's a big idea, and it could change the face of cybersecurity and economic inequality in rural America, forever.
Get ready for a history lesson.
Land-grant universities go all the way back to 1867, with the Morrill Act. The goal? Prevent rural America from getting "left behind" as industry and innovation continued to expand in big cities.
This is still a problem today. But now, it takes a less physical form. And according to Inside Higher Ed, it's causing major socioeconomic problems:
"The problem goes far beyond the ongoing discussion about the need to get broadband services into previously unserved rural areas. As important as that is, the deeper underlying problem is a growing imbalance in wealth and access to technology and technological expertise, which will lead ineluctably to broader socioeconomic instability."
The solution? Mark Hagerott, chancellor of the North Dakota University system, has a big idea.
The internet may be digital, but it's more dependent on physical space than we realize, according to Hagerott:
"As this space (cyberspace) expands, its benefits are concentrating and large swaths of our country are being left behind, unable to critically navigate or prosper in the digital economy."
He says that the plan of attack is an industry-financed national system that is available to any public or private institution. Here's how it would work:
"The proposed system would provide seed money and sustained funding with which to hire and retrain a core group of faculty members. They would then rapidly develop courses in highly technical fields like computer science and cyber-security, and in fields that that grapple with related ethical and social challenges such as business, the humanities, and the law.
Like today’s land grant universities, the cyber version could eventually provide 'extension services' to further help lagging areas understand and benefit from the digital economy."
And it's appealing to many rural communities. Kansas State University has plans for one of these programs in the coming year.
Perhaps this idea could also help with the cyber talent gap.
Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout, the cybersecurity job market remains hot.