Trend Micro Partners with ITE for Singaporean Student Tech Certification
Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global cybersecurity leader, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Singapore’s Institute of Technical Education (ITE), in a commitment to cultivate deeper IT and cybersecurity skills among ITE students. The partnership aims to train up to 3,000 students in the next three years, to be industry- and workforce-ready.
This partnership comes against the backdrop of the government’s renewed focus on building a robust Information & Communications (I&C) sector to fuel the expansion of Singapore’s status as a digital hub. Capacity-building and upskilling are some of the key areas of focus, as emphasised in the refreshed I&C Industry Transformation Map and upcoming initiatives of the Digital Enterprise Blueprint. In conjunction with this, cybersecurity is one of the key technology fields in which the government is looking to build deep skills.
As part of this collaboration, Trend Micro and ITE will be co-developing a curriculum that enhances cybersecurity specialisation in the field of operational technology (OT) and its relationship with information technology (IT). This will entail knowledge sharing and transfer across the areas of endpoint, network, cloud, and OT, among others, and will extend across both Pre-Employment Training (PET) and Continuing Education and Training (CET) programmes provided by ITE. Trend Micro will also provide its industry professional certifications for both staff and students as part of capability development.
“With the increased connectivity between IT and OT systems, the demand for competencies in both domains has and will continue to increase. Effectively, being able to combat cyber threats across IT and OT environments is crucial to ensuring minimal disruptions to the lives of Singaporeans. Critical infrastructures, ranging from power and utilities all the way to water treatment, are where we are seeing IT and OT environments increasingly converge — and they are not immune to cyber threats,” said Dhanya Thakkar, Senior VP, Global Marketing & AMEA, Trend Micro.
“It is important that industry players like us support the expansion of cybersecurity capabilities in this area. We are thrilled to be partnering with ITE, committed to advancing the technical skills of Singaporeans. This is our first collaboration with industry certification for students in Singapore, and we look forward to helping address this gap and empower local talent to tackle complex cyber threats, now and in the future,” Thakkar added.
Students who undergo the training can expect to experience hands-on, practical learning to enhance their problem-solving skills in the field of OT-IT cybersecurity. This will be done by way of prototypes based on real-world scenarios, co-developed by Trend Micro and ITE.
The initiative echoes the government’s call to encourage industry partners and institutions of higher education, like ITE, to collaborate in the co-designing and co-delivering of curricula. As outlined in the refreshed I&C Industry Transformation Map, the objective is to perpetually upskill students and graduates, preparing them for a rapidly evolving technology landscape.
Ms Low Khah Gek, Chief Executive Officer of ITE, said, “Cybersecurity is one of the key drivers of Singapore’s digital economy and Smart Nation vision. There is a strong demand for cybersecurity capabilities, especially in the field of Operational Technology (OT) and this partnership with Trend Micro plays an instrumental role in our efforts to help our students be industry-ready. Through hands- on practical training and emulating real-world scenarios, students will be better equipped to thrive in a career in cybersecurity.”
