Case Study: Portland State University prepares cybersecurity students with Google for Education

Portland State University trains cybersecurity students in 10-week Google for Education cloud labs

Portland State University faced the challenge of training students in advanced cybersecurity techniques, a field with a critical shortage of skilled professionals. The university needed a secure and controlled environment where students could safely hunt for malware and vulnerabilities without risking its own on-premises infrastructure. They partnered with Google for Education, using Google Cloud tools including Google Compute Engine virtual machines.

The solution implemented by Google for Education provided a scalable and repeatable cloud environment for hands-on Capture the Flag challenges and lab exercises. This allowed students to gain real-world experience with industry-standard tools, leading to measurable success in job placement. Google for Education enabled the university to develop an innovative, open-source curriculum that prepared students for careers in cybersecurity, with one student directly crediting their experience with Google Kubernetes Engine and containers for securing an entry-level cloud operations engineering role.

Portland State University