Information technology students in southeast Asia will soon be taking graduate-level cybersecurity courses from Southern Utah University.
It’s all part of a partnership between SUU and FPT Corporation, which is the largest Vietnamese telecommunication company in southeast Asia and on par with telecommunications giant Verizon Wireless in the United States.
Earlier this month SUU leaders announced that the school’s Master of Science in Cyber Security and Information Assurance program will be available to Vietnamese students attending FPT University and its online counterpart FUNiX University beginning this fall.
“This partnership extends the reach of SUU and the CSIS Department into Vietnam,” says Dr. Robert Robertson, department chair and associate professor. “It will bring individuals into the program whose perspectives will enhance and benefit fellow students at an international level.”
FPT University leaders and SUU dignitaries, including President Scott L. Wyatt, signed the partnership agreement in May with the intent to help increase professional training opportunities available to FPT students. The SUU-FPT University partnership has created the first online educational opportunity offered in Vietnam. What’s more, the two schools are promoting the process of international cooperation in education.
In June, SUU representatives Dr. Rob Robertson, Dr. Roger LaMarca and Dr. Stephen Allen travelled to Vietnam to train FPT University on the structure and implementation of the master’s program. An attractive facet of the program is the online component, allowing students to attend school while still living, learning and working in their country.
“Students will receive the same experience and personalized instruction as a traditional SUU classroom while preparing themselves for the rapidly growing field of cyber security,” says LaMarca, director of online admissions. “They will receive a wide variety of instruction and coursework from this program, including: cyber security and IT policy; information, vulnerability, and threat assessment; physical, personnel, and operational security; and contingency, redundancy, emergency, and disaster planning.”
The online Vietnamese students will be educated by leading experts in the cyber security industry and have access to all the resources and materials available to students in a traditional learning environment, including a library, tutor, lecturer and opportunities to study alongside American SUU students.
FPT Corporation is a multinational information technology company based in Vietnam, but branching out to 19 different countries. Smaller entities of the corporation include software outsourcing, telecommunication, property management, education and financial services.
This new partnership furthers the available educational opportunities in Vietnam while also increasing SUU’s international presence, which has grown steadily in recent years. In early 2015, SUU created its International Affairs Office within Academic Affairs, bringing together several offices with international activities that were previously located in different organizations across the campus, including English as a Second Language (ESL), the Global Engagement Center and International Admissions and Recruitment. The move put “all things International” under one organization at SUU, which has allowed the International Affairs Office to minimize the duplication of efforts across the school while coordinating work and initiatives more effectively. Stephen Allen is the Vice Provost of International Affairs.
The areas that fall within the Office of International Affairs include:
- Learning Abroad – Under the leadership of Kurt Harris, Global Engagement will promote student exchange and study abroad programs, international partnerships and agreements, and global EDGE projects.
- International Student and Scholar Services (ISS) – Jamie Orton serves as the Director of International Student and Scholar Services. Jamie and her team direct international admissions processing, international student orientation and acculturation, visa and immigration maintenance, homestay, and programming to support the retention of international students and promote a more global campus.
- American Language and Culture Center (ESL) – The ALCC provides intensive English language training on campus.
- International Recruitment – The international recruitment team recruits international students throughout the world.
- Short Term Programs – Under the direction of Johnny Oh, this self-support organization works to promote and organize groups from around the globe to visit SUU’s campus for customized short term programs. SUU’s homestay program also resides under short term programs.
- Confucius Institute – SUU’s Confucius Institute is organizationally housed within International Affairs. The Confucius Institute is located in the home that was formerly occupied by the Global Engagement Center.
- For more information about SUU’s International Affairs program click here.
