Tech Students Do Well in Cybersecurity Competition

05/24/2019

Michigan Technological University students are ranked among the best teams in a national cybersecurity competition. Michigan Tech ranked 60th of the nearly 1,300 universities, colleges and post-secondary institutions competing in the 2019 Governor’s Cybersecurity Talent Competition. Tech students also placed third among 48 schools from Michigan that took part in the challenge.

Nationwide, more than 13,000 took played and on May 20, 2,400 had reached the quarter-final round. Michigan Tech had 30 students participate in the competition, with an impressive seven students advancing to the quarter finals where they are now competing for $2.5 million in scholarships.

The Governor’s Cybersecurity Talent Competition is sponsored by Cyber Fastrack, a free online cybersecurity program for college students and graduates. It is a product of the SANS Institute. Cyber Fastrack was launched by the governors of 25 states and the SANS Institute in April as the first step in a national initiative to close the US cybersecurity skills gap. College students have the opportunity to “play the game” to discover their aptitude to excel in the field.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.