NCyTE Center sponsors and provides support for Industry Night events connecting educators, students, government representatives, and industry professionals to share information and conversation about the ever-changing cybersecurity landscape. These events are a good way for academia and industry to form connections and to engage students in conversation with potential future employers.

Benefits to Hosting an Industry Night Event

• Faculty and instructors gain insights into which skills their students need to successfully launch careers in the cybersecurity field.
• Students learn about the exciting local jobs that await them and are motivated to earn cybersecurity degrees and certificates.
• Educational institutions collaborate with business/industry to support student job placement and build networks of local employers that can form the foundation for future internship programs and/or job fairs.
• Increased visibility of cybersecurity programs among potential students in the community.
• Local employers have access to potential interns and employees and have the opportunity to help shape the future cybersecurity workforce.

If you would like to work with NCyTE Center to organize and co-host an event, we can offer the following support:

• A point of contact to help you with the logistics, outreach, and marketing of the event
• NCyTE Center sponsorship of a dinner/reception with prior agreement
• An NCyTE Center facilitator at the event

Industry Night Events Key Elements

Goal: Bring together academia and industry to discuss workforce needs in the cybersecurity field and how educators and industry can work together to ensure academic programs are providing students with the necessary skills for employment in the region.

Hosts: Our preference is that a NCYTE Center member community college or university host the event.

Speakers: Industry and/or Government representatives.

Facilitator: A NCYTE Center grant Co-PI will be present to facilitate the event.

Invitees: A good mix is a university and a couple of community colleges with faculty and students from each, along with about 20 industry people (or more). The local chamber of commerce or other regional economic development agencies can be a good partner for encouraging industry attendance. The total number of invitees is typically about 50 people.

Format: The entire event can be about 2-3 hours long (including dinner). We have found that it works well to invite people to come right after work as long as you provide dinner. We encourage a keynote speaker and a panel comprised of local industry representatives. 

Timeline: These events can take several months to plan. If you would like to work with NCYTE Center on this, we request that you contact us for assistance several months prior to the planned event date.

Requirements: NCYTE Center requires an opportunity to display informational materials at the event and that the NCYTE Center logo is included on all promotional materials. After the event, NCYTE Center must receive a list of Industry Night attendees and their contact information, plus copies of any photographs and/or notes taken at the event.

Interested in Hosting an Industry Night Event?

Complete the online form below. Colleges must be NCYTE Center educational members to be approved for funding and support.