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5 Reasons to Attend the MS-CC’s IT for Research and Cybersecurity Workshops

Diners sitting at a table during an MS-CC event

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5 Reasons to Attend the MS-CC’s IT for Research and Cybersecurity Workshops in 2023

The Minority Serving – Cyberinfrastructure Consortium (MS-CC) and Internet2 are excited to continue our series of IT for research and cybersecurity workshops on the campuses of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) in 2023. 

These free, hands-on workshops are designed to equip campus leaders with information, tools, and resources that support improving their institution’s IT for research and cybersecurity posture. 

Confirmed 2023 workshop locations include Claflin University in Orangeburg, SC, and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne, MD. Additional workshops are being scheduled and will be announced soon

In the meantime, here are five reasons you should attend one of the MS-CC’s IT for research and cybersecurity workshops in 2023:

1. We’ve designed a workshop experience for IT professionals, campus leaders, and faculty. 

Our goal for these workshops is to educate and empower our community participants from HBCUs and TCUs with tools and resources they can use to make an impact on their campus IT infrastructure to advance data-intensive research and education programs. In addition to presentations by subject matter experts, you can expect hands-on learning opportunities, funding considerations for your campus, and connections to other resources and potential collaborators in your region.

2. We’ve built time in the schedule for informal networking. 

The workshop is designed to support the sharing of ideas and discussions around shared challenges across HBCU and TCU campuses. We’re creating a space for you to network and build connections with your peers from HCBUs and TCUs, as well as cybersecurity professionals and leadership from regional and national non-profit organizations supporting the research and education community in the U.S.

3. The feedback from our 2022 workshops is helping us learn and grow with you. 

We held workshops at North Carolina A&T State University, Salish Kootenai College, and Jackson State University this past year. We collect feedback after each of our workshops to learn what resonated the most (and least) with our community attendees, and we use that feedback to constantly improve our workshop experience when putting together the agenda and sourcing speakers.

4. The workshop is free for MS-CC participants and requests for reimbursement of reasonable travel expenses can be accommodated. 

We are intentional in selecting workshop locations that are within reasonable driving distance for invited HBCU and TCU participants. Our National Science Foundation award (OAC 2137123) is funding the workshops and covering reasonable travel expenses for attendees who are MS-CC participants (join at no cost today!). 

5. We’re committed to supporting a vibrant community of practice across MS-CC participating campuses.

The workshops are an opportunity to network, discuss shared challenges with your peers, and talk through potential solutions that the MS-CC can support you with.  To learn more about the workshops and to register, please visit https://www.ms-cc.org/workshops. 

Questions about the workshop series can be directed to Teni Agbesanwa, MS-CC program coordinator, at tagbesanwa@internet2.edu.