ITE, HP to boost IT security competency in Singapore
ConvergenceAsia staff
14/04/2008

The Institute of Technical Education (ITE) and Hewlett-Packard (HP) have announced collaboration in the areas of security and trusted information communications infrastructure with the establishment of the ITE-HP Infocomm Security Resource Centre at ITE College East.

The objectives of this collaboration are two-fold and aligned to the Singapore Government’s iN2015 Masterplan, a 10-year initiative to grow the infocomm sector.

Firstly, the ITE-HP alliance will build a pipeline of entry-level infocomm professionals trained in information security. They would be able to develop security applications for Singapore and the region to help businesses meet complex information risk challenges. Secondly, the ITE-HP Infocomm Security Resource Centre will be the hub for small-medium enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore looking for information risk assessment services, and deployment of IT security projects.

Bruce Poh, Director & CEO of ITE said, "With the ITE-HP industry-collaboration on IT security, we are now levelling up the infocomms manpower competency. Previously, IT security system was a specialised field of study offered at the polytechnics and universities. Now, our ITE graduates will be equipped with a solid foundation in security, including threat and vulnerability mitigation, privacy and governance. They can either service the industry or even launch their own start-ups as they develop new security solutions with the support of technology companies such as HP.”

More than 160 students have signed up for the new Higher Nitec in Network Security course which launches this week. HP is providing consultation and overseas staff training to help ITE develop its curriculum and case studies.

"With the ITE-HP alliance, we are taking the blueprint of our long-established strategic collaborations with the institutes of higher learning in Singapore to ITE, to ensure that we deliver high-impact projects that meet the business objectives of the industry. Together we will train a new breed of ICT security specialists who will have both the technical and business smarts and who will use HP-UX as the platform to build a trusted security infrastructure for Singapore,” said Tan Yen Yen, Vice President and Managing Director, HP Singapore.

The pioneer batch of students will graduate with a joint ITE-HP UNIX Certification in IT Security. This marks another first for Singapore as it is the first time that HP is offering such a course for technical and vocational students.

According to a recent report by Access Market International (AMI) Partners, IT security enhancement is an area of priority for SMEs in Singapore. The ITE-HP Infocomm Security Resource Centre is equipped with a proof-of-concept technology lab to provide SMEs with real-life feasibility studies, technical evaluations and try out new security solutions. SMEs can leverage the expertise of ITE faculty members, students and HP security-trained experts before they make the decision to implement the solutions for their businesses.

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