University-based cyber clinics are an important part of the federal government’s push to diversify and bolster the federal cyber workforce. We were delighted to see clinical education highlighted yesterday in House testimony to the Committee on Homeland Security: Evolving the U.S. Approach to Cybersecurity: Raising the Bar Today to Meet the Threats of Tomorrow

Check out the discussion between Representative Dina Titus, CISA Director Jen Easterly, and National Cyber Director Chris Inglis’s remarks here.

“The clinic idea actually has many many beneficiaries. Of course, it benefits the local businesses, that are serviced by those clinics. Of course, it’s a component of the education of those students. But importantly, it bridges the gap between education and practice in ways that so many institutions have been challenged. When a student arrives with the degree or the certificate at the front door of a business that they want to work for, they often lack the experience necessary to prove that they can do the job at the very first moment. And so I think you’ve solved a number of challenges in one fell swoop, so I would commend that for others to follow.”

We couldn’t agree more about the win-win that is a cybersecurity clinic: building cybersecurity defenses of civil society organizations and educating the next generation of cybersecurity professionals with real world, hands-on experience.