CyLab Japan Honors First Graduating Class

CyLab Japan Honors First Graduating Class
of Japan MSIT-IS Program

March 13, 2007 - Carnegie Mellon University Provost and Senior Vice President Mark Kamlet will preside over a March 20 ceremony in Kobe, Japan, honoring the first graduates of a program designed to make this Pacific Rim nation a research and education hub for information security.     

"The program was extremely helpful to me because I now work as an information security consultant," said Mika Sashikata, one of nine international students to complete the rigorous curriculum. "I really enjoyed the interaction with students, faculty and staff from both Kobe and Pittsburgh."    

Carnegie Mellon CyLab Japan was established in 2005 as a collaboration between Carnegie Mellon and the Hyogo Institute of Information Foundation to offer a master of science in information technology — information security (MSIT-IS) track in Kobe, Japan.   

The 16-month graduate degree program, which prepares students to become leaders in information security, is an initiative of the College of Engineering's Information Networking Institute — the education partner of Carnegie Mellon CyLab — and the H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management The MSIT-IS program at Carnegie Mellon CyLab Japan blends information security technology with management and policy. The program's core courses range from Security Architecture and Analysis to Information Security Risk Policy and Management.     

"Given CyLab's interdisciplinary strengths in technology, policy and management, and INI's track record in delivering distributed education programs, CyLab and INI are strategically positioned to offer programs around the world that can produce graduates capable of solving complex security issues," said Pradeep K. Khosla, dean of Carnegie Mellon's College of Engineering and co-founder of Carnegie Mellon CyLab. CyLab is a university-wide, multidisciplinary initiative that builds on more than two decades of university leadership in information technology and involves roughly 200 faculty, students and staff.     

"The INI and University Advancement are conducting market research to plan future program expansion and other forms of course delivery to meet the needs of Japanese students and employers," said Dena Haritos Tsamitis, INI director and director of education, training and outreach for Carnegie Mellon CyLab.    

As a department within the College of Engineering and a collaboration between the School of Computer Science , the Tepper School of Business and the Heinz School, the INI's professional graduate degree programs represent an exceptional fusion of technologies, economics and policies of secure communication networks. The INI programs at partner institutions in Europe and Asia have become a paragon for international education within Carnegie Mellon and around the world. Using advanced facilities and resources, the programs combine local and distance education to train students in cutting-edge technologies. ( Carnegie Mellon press release )

See the Japan MSIT-IS 2007 Graduation Photo Gallery. Also, see "Unique Program Hones Information Security and Management Skills," a related article featured on the university's Web site.