Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) announced today that it has teamed with the University of Maryland (UMD) to support initiatives that promote education, research, and technology development in cybersecurity.
Through this collaboration, SAIC will coordinate and share cyber related research between the UMD Cybersecurity Center (MC(2)) in College Park, Md., and SAIC’s Cyber Innovation Center (CIC) in Columbia, Md. to leverage each center’s resources, alliances and diverse perspectives to build innovative approaches to shared challenges.
SAIC’s Cyber Innovation Center, officially opened in September, includes a technical solutions lab and secured infrastructure intended to help SAIC develop and deliver cybersecurity solutions to customers. Other features of the center include a research and development, and training and conference spaces, as well as demonstration, prototyping and proposal solution support areas.
The MC(2) works with government and industry to provide interdisciplinary educational programs to prepare the future cybersecurity workforce, and create new, innovative technologies to defend against cybersecurity attacks. SAIC’s CIC coordinates efforts across the company in collaboration with key teammates and customers, leveraging state-of-the-art technology and thought leadership in an agile facility to fuse ideas, services and technologies into comprehensive solutions.
“Together, SAIC and UMD are working to find new ways to help the nation and inspire future generations through research, innovation and education, while also helping to sustain growth of Maryland’s economic development,” said Larry Cox, SAIC senior vice president and business unit general manager.
SAIC maintains a close and mutually valuable relationship with UMD through multiple initiatives and a history of financial investment supporting UMD schools. At UMD’s A. James Clark School of Engineering, SAIC sponsors the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech) Venture Accelerator Program with seed funding to start up new companies. At the university’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and School of Public Policy, SAIC continues to support research, workshops and case studies on the cyber supply chain, including previous work with the University’s Supply Chain Management Center developing a cyber supply chain assurance reference model.
SAIC’s Strategic University Alliances initiative, established in 2008, is replicating this collaboration framework with other universities across the nation in support of the company’s strategic goals, particularly strengthening the science and technology core of SAIC.
In May, SAIC announced that it had partnered with NYU-Poly to significantly build its cybersecurity capabilities by delivering master’s degrees to more than 600 employees.