Governor Bill Lee announced on Tuesday that Tennessee will participate in the Girls Go CyberStart competition. In partnership with the SANS institute, this initiative will empower female high school students to explore opportunities in studying cybersecurity.
“We are working toward propelling Tennessee to the top 25 states for job creation in the technology sector by 2022,” said Governor Lee.
“Tennessee is excited to partner with this program to encourage young women to develop their talents in high-skill STEM-related fields.”
Girls Go CyberStart is an innovative and interactive competition that guides participants through a variety of challenges and puzzles which test decision-making skills and introduces concepts such as open-source intelligence, cryptography, and web application and more to spark an interest in computer science and cybersecurity.
Participants are eligible for 400 scholarships of $500 each for the college of their choice. The three high schools in Tennessee that have the most participants will win awards ranging from $500 to $1,000.
"The nation desperately needs more highly-skilled cyber professionals," said SANS Director of Research Alan Paller. "We have new evidence that CyberStart radically improves the quality and preparation of people entering the cybersecurity field. Women are woefully underrepresented in the technical side of cybersecurity, but by opening CyberStart to tens of thousands of high school girls, we may be able to help the nation identify the next generation of talented people who will excel in this critical field."
Almost eight percent of Tennessee’s projected job openings from 2017-2022 are in STEM-related fields. Governor Lee is focused on developing Tennessee’s data-driven, technology-focused workforce, and is committed to providing these opportunities to all Tennessee students.
More information on Girls Go CyberStart: girlsgocyberstart.org. More information on Cyber FastTrack: cyber-fasttrack.org.