On New Year’s Eve, the universities of Michigan and Alabama will face off in the third annual ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa Bay. ReliaQuest continues to use this high-profile event to raise awareness of the importance of cybersecurity, as well as career opportunities within the cybersecurity industry.
This year, ReliaQuest will take that commitment a step further, offering real-world cybersecurity training to the college campuses of the participating universities from this year and previous years’ ReliaQuest Bowl games, offering a two-day cybersecurity bootcamp at the respective schools.
The labs program, which ReliaQuest developed over the past decade, gives students hands-on experience with real-world cybersecurity scenarios and technologies to complement what they learn in the classroom. ReliaQuest has offered the program through the University of South Florida in Tampa for the past six years, resulting in hundreds of graduates being offered jobs at our global cybersecurity company. The ReliaQuest Bowl gives us the opportunity to expand the program to other universities across the country.
The program typically includes four weeks of hands-on training offered at the ReliaQuest headquarters, with students paired with mentors who walk them through a variety of common cybersecurity tactics and techniques. The ReliaQuest Bowl program will condense the curriculum into a two-day bootcamp to give students an introduction into cybersecurity, while putting them into the pipeline for future job opportunities at ReliaQuest.
This effort underscores ReliaQuest’s commitment to use its bowl game sponsorship to raise awareness of the importance of and opportunities within the cybersecurity industry. The goal of this program is to connect talented students with opportunities to build knowledge and skills, however, any student at any of the universities can participate if they would like.
“While we often hear about the shortage of skilled and trained cyber professionals, there is no shortage of people who would like to be trained and skilled in cybersecurity,” said ReliaQuest founder and CEO Brian Murphy. “It’s our responsibility as an industry to help close that gap.”
Many students enter college without knowing what a career in the cybersecurity industry looks like day to day. The ReliaQuest program not only gives students real world insight into the industry, it also connects them with mentors and professionals who are doing the work every day.
By sponsoring the ReliaQuest Bowl game, ReliaQuest can broaden the reach of cybersecurity awareness, celebrate the commitment and excellence of the student athletes, coaches and their universities competing in this game, while continuing to highlight those who are making things possible in our communities.
“We are honored to have been selected by ReliaQuest to participate in its ReliaQuest Labs Program,” said Dr. Robert Green, Interim Dean of Engineering at Mississippi State University, which played in the 2023 ReliaQuest Bowl. “This unique program will not only allow our cybersecurity students to enhance their technical skills but also offer real-world experience to our juniors and seniors, equipping them to enter the workforce ready to apply their skills in threat detection and defense to address the world’s most pressing challenges with one of the nation’s leading security companies.”
The program will be offered in the spring of 2025, with exact dates announced in the coming weeks.
