IBM has partnered with 11 international universities in addition to the current 200 it already works with to offer a cyber security curriculum in the lecture hall.
The move is aimed at meeting the growing demand for cyber security personnel in organisations as employees are required to protect data in the cloud, mobile devices and on-premise.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in cyber security roles is expected to rise by 22% by 2020.
IBM Cybersecurity Innovation Program VP Marisa Viveros said developing security intelligence skills for the 21st century has taken on a new priority in the digital age.
"Our security skills development programs are designed to address the most urgent areas of security and provide expertise and training to help clients cope with the dire skills shortage," Viveros added.
The new universities are Fordham University, Georgia Institute of Technology, San Jose State University, Southern Methodist University, Technische Universität Darmstadt in Germany, Temasek Polytechnic in Singapore, Universidad Cenfotec in Costa Rica, Universiti Kebangsaan in Malaysia, The University of South Carolina, University of Texas at Dallas, and Wroclaw University of Economics in Poland.
The programme is divided into three sections for students – Technology and Tools, Course Materials and Faculty Awards.
IBM has cited a UK government report which claims that it could take 20 years to bridge the current cyber security skills gaps while another report from Frost & Sullivan claims that organisations have too few information security workers in their staff.
