Education 7.27.25 - Flipbook - Page 6
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The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, July 27, 2025
Colleges adopt
programs in rapidly
changing tech
environment
Cybersecurity and drones are
increasingly of interest to students
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By Alex Keown, Contributing Writer
aryland’s colleges
and universities are
adapting to the rapid
change of technology by offering new,
cutting-edge programs designed to
address current and future needs in
various industries. With an eye on the
evolving landscape, three schools,
Harford
Community
College,
Towson University and University
of Maryland, Global Campus have
created new academic programs in
information technology, cybersecurity and drone technology.
To address the need for cybersecurity professionals in the United
States and around the world, Harford
Community College partnered with
the Baltimore Cyber Range to provide hands-on, real-world training
in the field. Students who complete
the program will earn the Security
Operations Center Operations
Analyst 1 certificate, which is an
industry-recognized credential in
cybersecurity.
Mark Minnick, Harford’s dean of
business and applied technology,
says the new program aligns with
Gov. Wes Moore’s Cyber Maryland
Program, which focuses on expanding training in cybersecurity and creating new and diverse pathways to
careers in the field. Minnick says
it’s “great timing” for the state and
higher education to come together to make this program a reality.
Harford’s new cyber range creates
real cyber challenges for the students in order to provide them with
the knowledge to rapidly and successfully address cyber threats, he
noted.
Harford faculty members have
gone through the training and the
first cohort of students in the new
program will begin in the fall 2025
session. There are currently 127 students in Harford’s information assurance and cybersecurity associates
degree program. Minnick says all of
those students will have access to
the range in different capacities.
M
“The college is adding true,
real-life, live cyberattacks that the
students will have the opportunity
to work through and relate to. It’s
hands-on experience and in this field,
that’s really important. You can read
theory all you want, but it’s important
to have the capability to address it
in real-time,” Minnick says. “We’re
really excited to have this chance.
It’s going to grow opportunities for
students to earn degrees and gain
employment.”
Towson University’s information
security and assurance graduate
certificate provides graduate-level
education in IT for students preparing to enter the high-tech workforce.
Towson introduced the graduate
certificates because many students
who were part of the master’s degree
program would find new employment before completing their degree
and end up leaving, explains Cheryl
Thomas Brown, a teaching professor and director of AIT M.S. program
in the department of computer and
information sciences. She says the
certificate program, one of eight at
the school, is provides students with
the skills to protect computer systems and prevent cyberattacks.
Towson is a center for academic excellence in cyber operations
and cyber defense, and the certificate provides students with the
skills and knowledge to find employment within the field. Brown notes
that Towson’s faculty has significant
industry experience coupled with
teaching experience, which benefits
the students in the program.
“They’re learning how to secure
systems from cybersecurity threats.
This involves understanding how
people attack systems, what kind of
attacks and how to secure systems,”
Brown says. She adds that because
most cybersecurity risks are the end
users who fail to properly assess risk
and click on a suspect hyperlink. “A
lot of this is training people. Most
people don’t think about the people
themselves, who are the weakest
link.”
Tevin McCoy, 31, was working on
a degree in business administration
with a concentration in marketing at
Towson before switching to information technology. McCoy says he was
drawn to the field due to the career
potential, as well as the “intriguing aspect” of protecting companies
and people from hackers and other
forms of cyberattacks.
He previously earned an associate’s degree from Prince George’s
Community College. McCoy touted
the information technology program
at Towson. He says the faculty and
administration provides students
with the information and training
that will allow them to be successful
in school, and in their future careers,
even if students need to take some
prerequisite classes before diving
into the courses of study.
“If you choose to do it, the professors are there for you and will do
what they need to do to make sure
you’re successful,” McCoy says.
Across the globe, drones have
multiple applications, from military,
to industrial and agricultural.
At the University of Maryland
Global Campus, students can earn
an undergraduate certificate in
drones and autonomous systems.
The certificate program examines
key concepts, notable trends and
future applications of the rapidly
evolving technology. The certificate
focuses on four specializations for
drones, homeland security, criminal justice, emergency management
and public safety.
“Drones have uses in agriculture, construction, geological surveys, with law enforcement and
military, and so much more. There
are all types of employment opportunities for drone operators, and we
want students to learn the technical
skills with drones that they can use
when they graduate,” explains Brian
Powers, portfolio director of homeland, intel and emergency management at UMGC.
Justin Baumgartner, professor
of public safety administration at
UMGC who previously worked in
law enforcement, adds that drones
can be used to go into areas that
are not hospitable to humans, either
rugged terrain, or in areas that are
hazardous, such as places with toxic
environments. With drones ranging
from the size of the palm his hand to
bigger carriers capable of delivering
an explosive payload, such as the
ones currently being deployed in the
war between Ukraine and Russia.
“There’s so much going on with
drone technology, not just sensational stories, but practical applications
in multiple fields and this program
will enable students to learn valuable
skills that can lead to employment,”
Powers says.
With the addition of artificial
intelligence, drones can act autonomously. Powers says the autonomy means individuals won’t have
to have hands-on involvement with
drone operation.
“We thought this would be something we’d teach down the road, but
it’s happening now, Powers says.
“The program today is not what
it will be tomorrow, because it’s
evolving at such a rapid pace,”
Baumgartner adds.
The first cohort of students will
begin their studies in the fall of
2025 and the curriculum will evolve
as drone technology evolves,
Baumgartner notes. The certificate
program requires 18 hours of credit
from six different courses.
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Transforming health care, from page 4
A dental education instructor (right) and a dental student (center) observe another student (left) as she practices
a typical dental hygiene procedure in Anne Arundel Community College’s (AACC) dental simulation lab. The lab
includes a simulation capture system used to record videos of procedures so students can watch and re-watch
as they practice along with dental models. Image courtesy of Anne Arundel Community College
This fall, Anne Arundel Community
College (AACC) will launch its new
dental hygiene program with a full
cohort of students. In a state-ofthe-art simulation lab, students will
receive hands-on training, practicing
common dental procedures ranging
from patient intake to instrumentation
and infection control using realistic
dental models, dental tools and a 3D
panoramic X-ray machine.
Badal M. Patel, director of dental
education for AACC, is particularly
excited about the lab’s simulation
capture
system,
which
lets
instructors record demonstrations
on how to perform these procedures.
“Instead of a one-time demo, we
can record videos so that students
can watch them over and over again,
practicing with the dental models
even outside the lab, at any time
and place,” Patel explains. “The
repetition of practicing along with the
videos will reinforce learning, help
streamline learning and ultimately
increase our students’ chances of
success.”
Stevenson University is expanding
its immersive learning fields such
as in health care by integrating
professional-grade
scientific
equipment directly into its chemistry
and biochemistry curricula. Starting
this fall, students, including nurses,
will begin using the school’s
recently acquired Nuclear Magnetic
Resonance (NMR) spectrometer
to analyze the chemical makeup
of compounds including common
household products, determine
unknown chemical structures as
done in forensic labs and confirm
the results of synthetic experiments.
Cheri Hendrix (left) talks through what physician assistant clinical student Ashlee Leshinski (center) is seeing as
the student views a patient showing signs of a stroke. What Leshinski is seeing in 3D in the VR headset is shown
on the screen behind her, including overlaid clinical information. Image courtesy of the University of Maryland
Assistant Professor Matthew
R. Hudson says using an NMR
spectrometer is a foundational skill
for chemists entering the workforce.
“For the first time, students will
be able to prove their success in
synthesizing chemicals like aspirin
with certainty,” he notes. “It will be
eye-opening and may even illuminate
new career paths beyond academic
research, such as in pharmaceuticals
and forensic science.”
The NMR spectrometer will also
be used in an advanced chemical
forensics course as well as an
integrative laboratory course, which
supports faculty-guided research
on cancer-targeting chemotherapy
compounds as well as research
aimed at developing improved
treatments for Parkinson’s disease
and cystic fibrosis, for example.
Maryland’s colleges demonstrate
how using innovative technologies
to provide immersive learning
experiences can make health care
education more hands-on, effective
and scalable all at once. From UMD’s
globally accessible VR training to
AACC’s repeatable simulation lab
and Stevenson’s deep, real-world
lab practice, these innovations don’t
just enhance coursework. They give
students the confidence, practical
experience and skills they’ll carry
into clinics, labs and patient care
settings.
As these programs grow and
evolve, this high-tech approach
could shape a new standard for
immersive, workforce-ready health
care training far beyond Maryland’s
college campuses.
