NIIT and PwC India to Develop Talent for Cyber Security

PwC India and NIIT University (NU) have entered into a strategic partnership towards creating a trained talent pool of Cyber Security professionals in India.

To this end, academic experts from NU and senior professionals from PwC India have co-created a two-year work-integrated specialised Master’s Programme in Cyber Security.

The companies claim that the Master’s Programme in Cyber Security is amongst the first programmes that blend academic and professional education, with the industry player PwC India being an equal partner in developing and delivering the programme. The key driver in this programme is said to be industry-led research in the Cyber Security space.

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Cyber Security market currently at $1 billion, is expected to grow to $35 billion by 2025. The demand for skilled professionals in the space is believed to be very high.

This demand is coming from domestic companies spending in the country; multinational companies investing in India; increasing government activity in the cyber and cyber security space; and information technology firms bringing in work from clients.

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“Technology has changed the way businesses are run and has brought along with it unique challenges and threats. In today’s digitized environment securing our cyberspace has become a priority for businesses and citizens across the world,” said Rajendra S. Pawar, chairman NIIT Group.

The apex body for the IT industry NASSCOM launched Cyber Security Task Force earlier this year to build India as a global hub for providing Cyber Security solutions, prepare the Cyber Security R&D plan and develop a skilled workforce of Cyber Security experts.

The task force aims to build the Cyber Security industry in India from the 1% market share to 10% by 2025; create a trained base of 1 million certified and skilled Cyber Security professionals and build 1000+ start-ups in Cyber Security from India.

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First year of the Master’s Programme in Cyber Security will be held at the Neemrana Campus of NU, followed by an internship at PwC India under the supervision of NU faculty.

The programme will emphasize on Security Analytics, Threat Intelligence, Industrial Control System and Vulnerability Analysis and also draw on practitioner-experts from PwC India to ensure the right blend of academic concepts and industry application.

PwC has worked with NU to devise the curriculum for the programme. In addition, PwC India and NU will co-create specialised laboratories at the University, with advanced hardware and software required for the programme.

The first batch of the Master’s Programme in Cyber Security will commence from July 2016. Applicants should have four years Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering / Technology in Computer Science or IT or Master’s Degree holders in Computer Science or IT or Mathematics and Statistics.

It is mandatory for applicants to have secured at least 60% or above in their 10th and 12th standard boards and in Bachelor’s and Master’s degree. Applications will be available from January 2016.