Neel Mehta
More than 2,150 teams of middle school and high school students from 50 states, Canada and U.S. military schools have registered to participate in a cyberdefense contest run by the Air Force Association.
Registrations for AFA’s CyberPatriot VII challenge are up approximately 40 percent from the 1,566 entrants recorded last year, AFA said Monday.
The competition is sponsored by Northrop Grumman and seeks to engage students in science, technology, engineering and math.
“Our registration numbers prove that CyberPatriot is growing immensely, all the while making a lasting STEM impact on our participants,” said CyberPatriot National Commissioner Bernard Skoch.
“The 40 percent growth in just one year is proof that we’re exciting youth about education and career opportunities in STEM and more specifically, cyber defense,” added Diane Miller, Northrop’s CyberPatriot program director.
CyberPatriot VII’s first round is scheduled for Oct. 24 to 26 and the grand finals competition is slated to take place in Washington in March 2015.
