Waleed Farag, the director of the IUP Institute for Cyber Security and current PI of several major federally funded grants, visited Indiana Area Senior High School on April 16, 2025, to share information about cybersecurity and career opportunities.
During the presentations, Farag, along with three IUP cybersecurity students, shared details on career pathways, expected annual salaries, and projects/initiatives ongoing at IUP. Initiatives discussed include the DoD Cyber Service Academy (CSA) and PC4A. The CSA scholarship program provides full-ride scholarships to cybersecurity students, along with opportunities for valuable, hands-on education in the form of paid internships and employment. Since the start of the program at IUP, over 60 students have been awarded the scholarship. PC4A, the largest grant award in IUP history, provides multiple streams of support for students, including paid internships, scholarships, free textbooks, and certification workshops and exam vouchers.
One of the IUP students who accompanied Farag, Ethan Hiester, said about the visit, “I really enjoyed my time at Indiana High School. It was great getting to interact and educate the future of computer science students. I think as a collective we did a great job of relaying the information in a manner that the students would understand and draw their attention to the major upsides IUP brings in the computer science department and in the concentration of cybersecurity.”
For students who are already considering a career in cybersecurity, Farag highlighted IUP’s designation as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense and other ongoing research opportunities available to cybersecurity students at IUP.
All activities, events, grants, and research can be found on the IUP Institute for Cyber Security website.