​​The NSERC ​CREATE Cybersecurity Program was initiated by Queen's University and Royal Military College due to the severe shortage of cybersecurity experts, not just here in Canada, but around the world.
Picture
Canada has a desperate shortage of trained cybersecurity personnel at all levels. The Information and Communications Technology Council projects growth in information security positions in Canada from 12K in 2016 to at least 14K in 2019. Internationally, Cybersecurity Ventures, synthesizing employment figures from the media, analysts, job boards, vendors, governments, and organizations globally, predicts 3.5M cybersecurity job openings worldwide by 2021. Few academics conduct research in cybersecurity and train HQP to innovate in operational cybersecurity in banks, government, healthcare, critical infrastructure, and businesses that operate in online environments. There is also limited capacity to educate the public to safely navigate an online world. Some research institutes focus on cybersecurity, and several universities offer graduate courses, but there are limited graduate training opportunities in the field apart from a world-class program at the Royal Military College, which has historically admitted few civilians.
​Supported by collaborations with the Department of National Defence, the Communications Security Establishment, IBM and other companies and organizations, the program will train over 75 HQP in cybersecurity skills in critical demand in Canada and worldwide. PhD graduates of the program will conduct leading-edge research to keep Canada safer, and will train our next generation of skilled cybersecurity specialists. Master's graduates will play a key role in solving the urgent and important cybersecurity challenges facing government, critical infrastructure, private industry, and individual Canadians. All participants will benefit from a program designed and developed by a team of expert researchers at RMC and Queen's, and will have the opportunity to hone their skills in unique annual training exercises: "Capture the Flag," modelled on the US National Security Agency Cyber Defence Exercise competition, and a tabletop cybersecurity response exercise. These exercises will integrate technical learning, social context and team leadership in a single task. ​

If you are interested in joining our ELITE Cybersecurity Team, please visit cyber.cs.queensu.ca.