The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) is hosting its fourth annual “Shaping the Future of Cybersecurity Education Workshop” September 17-19, 2013, at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) laboratories in Gaithersburg, Md.

NICE is a national campaign designed to improve the cyber behavior, skills and knowledge of every segment of the population, enabling a safer cyberspace.

The workshop, “Navigating the National Cybersecurity Education Interstate Highway,” will highlight cybersecurity education concepts, tools and best practices with a focus on achievements at the state and federal levels. The goal is to highlight cybersecurity awareness, education and training programs that can be adopted, copied, used or built-on by small businesses, educational institutions, industry and government to advance the strategic goals of NICE.

The September workshop offers four tracks: Awareness; Formal Education; Professionalization, Certifications, Training and Maintaining a Competitive Cybersecurity Workforce; and the Role of States in the National Cybersecurity Interstate Highway—Competitions, CAE Schools and Students. Topics will include what’s happening at the community college and state level, to free federal training resources to small business security best practices. The track 4 offering, “Defense Against the Dark Arts,” is a must for all cybersecurity experts who are Harry Potter fans.

State-of-the-art techniques will be highlighted, including training and mentoring in virtual environments, as well as using competitions to advance cybersecurity education. In addition to picking up new techniques that attendees can use on the job, experts will provide updates on NIST initiatives, including Executive Order 13636 “Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity” and Cybersecurity in the Cloud.

For more information, or to register, see the workshop Web page at www.nist.gov/itl/csd/4th-annual-nice-workshop-september-17-19-2013.cfm.