Strategic Partnership Unveiled: FORTINET, Leading Multinational in Cyber Security, Joins Hands with Faculty of Engineering & Information Technology for Groundbreaking MoU, Elevating Cyber Security Competency in SGU’s IT Program!
September 27, 2023, reports that the Bachelor IT and Master IT programs at the Faculty of Engineering and IT (FEIT) of SGU, represented by Dr. Maulahikmah Galinium, Dean of FEIT, and Dr. Eka Budiarto, Head of the Master Program IT, signed a collaboration agreement with the multinational computer security company FORTINET. The agreement was signed by Mr. Edwin Lim, Country Director of Fortinet Indonesia. SGU has now become the latest educational institution in Indonesia to join the Fortinet Training Institute Academic Partner Program, a collaborative initiative between Fortinet and academic institutions worldwide aimed at enhancing cybersecurity skills.
Through this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Fortinet, SGU has officially become a part of the Fortinet Training Institute Academic Partner Program. This program is designed to enhance students’ competence in the field of cybersecurity, aligning with SGU’s IT program, which includes cybersecurity as one of its concentrations. Additionally, SGU boasts a recognized Security Operation Center (SOC), acknowledged as the National SOC by ACAD CSIRT (Academic Computer Security Incident Response Team). This national organization focuses on training and research in cybersecurity, fostering collaborations among various cybersecurity and incident response teams in higher education institutions to bolster Indonesia’s national cybersecurity posture.
With the signing of this MoU, Bachelor IT students at SGU can directly benefit by enhancing their cybersecurity skills. Throughout the first academic year of this partnership, students are expected to enter the NSE Level 4 program. This opportunity allows them to explore additional training paths aligned with their career aspirations and obtain certifications from these activities.
The MoU signing event was followed by guest lectures from Mr. Iskandar Lie (System Engineering Fortinet) and Mr. Adityo Setyonugroho (Partner Technology Strategist Microsoft, who is also an alumnus of SGU’s IT program). They presented topics on “Challenge and Opportunities in Cyber Security World” and “Secure your Cloud with Zero Trust Architecture,” respectively. The aim was to provide insights into the challenges and opportunities in the cybersecurity world and explain how to secure cloud services, which are fundamental infrastructures in various companies. The discussed system architecture was the zero-trust architecture.
In his address, Mr. Maulahikmah Galinium, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and IT at SGU, stated, “By becoming an Academy partner of Fortinet, SGU offers BIT students the option to obtain Professional Certification in Cyber Security as part of the mandatory Professional Competence Assessment (PCA) courses. This certification is crucial for competing in the IT field, especially in Cyber Security careers. For the Master’s program, it can be used to enhance competencies and certifications to support current careers.”
Through this collaboration, SGU’s students and faculty are expected to have the opportunity to participate in training and certification programs, enhancing their cybersecurity skills. This development will increase the credibility, competence, and market value of SGU graduates. Additionally, there are discussions about the potential collaboration between SGU and Fortinet in the development of SGU’s existing SOC. This initiative is significant because cybersecurity has become a pressing issue due to numerous system breaches, such as those occurring in several banks in Indonesia and among various university circles. SGU’s proactive approach demonstrates its forward-thinking mindset, recognizing that with the ongoing digital transformation, all devices and computers will be interconnected, making cybersecurity increasingly critical in the future. (DM/VEH)
