SPS Stories
Faculty Spotlight
Preparing the Future Cyber Workforce
Fast Facts
- Joined the Center for Global Affairs after an eight-year career in the US Air Force
- Driven to provide students with the real-world experience and skills to become cybersecurity professionals
- His students recently placed second among more than 30 teams at the prestigious Atlantic Council's Cyber 9/12 Strategy Competition
<p>Panayotis "Pano" Yannakogeorgos, a clinical associate professor and program director for the NYU SPS Center for Global Affairs' <a href="/content/sps-nyu/explore/degrees-and-programs/ms-in-global-security-conflict-and-cybercrime.html" title="MS in Global Security, Conflict, and Cyber Crime (GSCC)">MS in Global Security, Conflict, and Cyber Crime (GSCC)</a> is leading students to shape the future of cybersecurity. </p>
<p>He joined the Center for Global Affairs after an eight-year career in government civil service with the US Air Force, where he completed his tenure as the founding dean of the Air Force Cyber College. Now, he leads a team of full-time and adjunct faculty members who have developed a unique cyber curriculum that aligns with work roles related to strategy, planning, policy, and intelligence analysis within the US National Cyber Workforce Framework (NCWF).</p>
<p>As the number of cyber-enabled malicious incidents that impact individuals, businesses, and organizations continues to rise every day, Yannakogeorgos discusses how the NYU SPS Center for Global Affairs is helping to prepare the next generation of cyber strategists, planners, analysts, and leaders to fill a critical national and international cyber workforce gap.</p>
Meeting High Demand with Deep Expertise
<p>When he discovered that CGA sought to launch the GSCC and was looking for someone to lead the effort, Yannakogeorgos was thrilled to have the opportunity to take the lessons he had learned while developing a strategy-oriented cyber program for the military and scale them to meet the strong demand for cybersecurity professionals across the world.</p>
<p>The program is designed to provide students with the real-world experience and skills they need to take their place as top cybersecurity professionals. In his opinion, the skills needed to succeed in cybersecurity go well beyond just understanding science and technology. "One of the most critical and essential skills required for the cyber workforce is the ability to think critically to understand policy and to be able to analyze problems, and design solutions within a strategic framework that aligns with organizational goals and objectives," he reflects.</p>
Not your Average Cybersecurity Program
<p><span class="p-body">While most cybersecurity graduate programs focus on the nuts and bolts of science and technology, Yannakogeorgos emphasizes what sets GSCC apart: "It addresses the intersection of major cyber policy, emerging technology issues, and societal impact. We educate our students with the critical knowledge needed to understand foundational STEM concepts."</span></p>
<p><span class="p-body">Students in GSCC can expect to engage in classroom exercises that help develop the skills and abilities they will need to apply what they learn to real-world cyber and policy issues in a low-risk academic environment. This prepares them to enter the cyber workforce ready to develop policy and strategy, support cyber intelligence analysis, and advise organizations by translating between the technical and non-technical communities within organizations.</span></p>
<p><span class="p-body">The proof of the program's effectiveness is in its results. Yannakogeorgos says, "We recently placed second among more than 30 teams at the prestigious <a href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/programs/digital-forensic-research-lab/cyber-statecraft-initiative/cyber-912/" target="_blank" title="Atlantic Council's Cyber 9/12 Strategy Competition">Atlantic Council's Cyber 9/12 Strategy Competition</a>, an annual cyber policy and strategy competition where teams competed in a crisis-simulation meet war-gaming exercise."</span></p>
Some of our top students are in a situation where they actually have too many choices, and I find myself guiding them through difficult decisions that will impact the next 10 years of their professional lives, like whether or not they should take a job in the private or public sector. We also see employers recruiting students who are still a year away from graduation but have made firm offers contingent upon graduating from the program."
Ample Opportunities for New Graduates
<p>With any new program, faculty are excited to see how graduates apply their knowledge and expertise in the field. Yannakogeorgos emphasizes how eager hiring managers have been to usher the program's first cohort graduates onto their teams.</p>
<p>This speaks volumes about the real-world application of what students learn in GSCC. The team exercises, strategy design projects, and other hands-on skills they developed were immediately applicable on the job. Many of the readings assigned during the program of study also related to on-the-job scenarios and responsibilities.</p>
<p>A career in cybersecurity is at your fingertips. Discover where an <a href="/content/sps-nyu/explore/degrees-and-programs/ms-in-global-security-conflict-and-cybercrime.html" title="/content/sps-nyu/explore/degrees-and-programs/ms-in-global-security-conflict-and-cybercrime.html">MS in Global Security, Conflict, and Cybercrime</a> can take you today.</p>
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