NETWORKS
Merit, Connecticut Education Network partner
CEN Members can now take advantage of Merit's training courses at a discount
Merit Network and the Connecticut Education Network (CEN) have announced a strategic partnership that provides CEN members discounted pricing on Merit's Professional Learning and cyber security certification courses. Merit, a Michigan-based non-profit corporation that operates America's longest-running regional research and education network, and CEN, the nation's first all-optical research and education network, have a common goal of delivering valuable resources for their Members.
Through this collaboration CEN Members, comprised of educators (K-12 and higher education), municipalities, libraries, local businesses and State of Connecticut agencies, will have access to cyber security courseware and certifications, utilizing the infrastructure of the Michigan Cyber Range. Hosted by Merit, the Michigan Cyber Range is a virtual environment used to teach, train and test the security of strategic systems in the safety of an isolated world. Cyber security courses offered include penetration testing, ethical hacking, information security, digital forensics and more.
Both of the research and education networks have a common mission of providing Internet connectivity to the non-profit community and fostering collaboration between their member organizations, which include higher education institutions, K-12, libraries, municipal governments and healthcare organizations. CEN currently provides a fiber-optic connection to every K-12 school district in the state of Connecticut.
"We are very excited about our partnership with CEN and the State of Connecticut. Our classes and the Michigan Cyber Range will nicely compliment the great value that CEN provides their members," said Don Welch, president and CEO of Merit.
Merit also provides a catalog of in-person and live-online learning courses for IT professionals. These courses are designed to advance technology skills, such as networking, Linux security, business continuity, IPv6, project management and virtualization.
CEN's Member organizations now have the opportunity to advance their information technology capabilities and cyber security skills at a special discounted price, utilizing Merit's Professional Learning calendar. View Merit's schedule of courses and events at www.merit.edu/learning.
This partnership is the first of its kind for CEN. Merit currently has Professional Learning partnerships with other research and education networks, including Great Plains Network, KINBER, NCREN, NJEDge.Net, NYSERNet and WiscNet.