Chatsworth, CA (July 14, 2016)
Federal and state budget cuts in recent years have left many California State Universities struggling to fund their various programs with staff and equipment to meet the needs of their students. In answer to this deficit, IT Creations, Inc., one of the fastest growing IT equipment resellers in the United States, is donating $172,000 in IT equipment from HP and Cisco to support CSUN's College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS) and encourage the development of the Computer Information Technology program.
"We are thrilled by this generous donation from IT Creations, Inc." said Malik Sooch, Director of Development at CSUN's College of Engineering & Computer Science. "It will go a long way towards supporting our college and helping our students get the hands-on experience they need to prepare themselves for a constantly evolving workforce. Furthermore, students in our CECS Layer8 Club will have additional resources to help mentor local high students who are preparing to study in Computer Information Technology and Computer Science."
The donation consists of HP ProLiant servers, and Cisco networking equipment that can be configured for use as web servers, mail servers, file servers, hypervisors for virtualization, and a variety of other uses. The CECS students will get valuable hands-on training configuring and deploying advanced enterprise networking solutions to support scholastic requirements, and practice for local and national competitions like the prestigious Western Regional Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (WRCCDC).
At the WRCCDC competition, CECS students are required to have in-depth knowledge of enterprise networking configurations. "IT Creations, Inc. equipment donation will help mimic the playing field for the Western Regional Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition and enable CSUN students to compete with other university programs that have more funding sources." Said Doris Chaney, Tutorial Coordinator with the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
Last year, CSUN's Layer8 team placed third in the WRCCDC behind Cal Poly Pomona, and UC Berkeley. This year, with the right equipment and a winning attitude, they hope to make it to the national finals.
Layer8 is a cybersecurity club supported by CSUN's College of Engineering and Computer Science and counts many engineering and computer science majors among its members. The club promotes a proactive approach to cybersecurity with weekly club meetings to disseminate processes and practices to protect networks, computers, programs, and data from attack, damage or unauthorized access. Doris Chaney created the club in 2012 with the help of two high school CyberPatriot program graduates interested in forming a similar program at CSUN.
The CyberPatriot program was initially developed by the Air Force Association, and presented by the Northrup Grumman Foundation to prepare high school and middle school students for the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition. It also inspires students to explore careers in cybersecurity and other technical disciplines, and helps to develop leadership, communication, and teamwork life skills that are essential for today's professional workforce. The competition puts teams of students in the position of newly hired IT professionals tasked with managing the network of a small company. Layer8 club members provide up to eight training sessions leading up to the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition. Currently, half of Layer8's members are CyberPatriot program graduates.
"IT Creations, Inc., is also part of our ECS Mentorship Program, and has participated in several TECHFEST events at CSUN. The TECHFEST events provide a forum for students in the College of Engineering and Computer Science to interact directly with local and national companies looking to hire new employees and interns." Said Doris.
"Developing the skills and providing opportunities for today's engineering and computer science students is essential to the future of our industry. We place a high value on our relationship with CSUN, and benefit from the caliber of our CSUN interns and employees. They consistently show a desire to learn, and bring a fresh perspective and skill set to our company." Said Alex Gorban, CEO of IT Creations, Inc. "As IT Creations, Inc. continues to grow, many of today's students could be our future employees or customers."
The hardware donation will be split between the CECS, CSUN Computer information Technology Senior Design Lab and the Layer8 club enabling CSUN to provide students with the training environment needed for them to succeed, and drive innovation in computer science and cybersecurity.
"Hands-on experience is essential, and IT Creations, Inc. donation will help us to provide students with a solid foundation of skills necessary to excel in the field of information security. I challenge more companies to mimic this role model." said Doris Chaney.
IT Creations, Inc. currently employs several interns and full-time employees from CSUN and continues to provide opportunities for students at local universities interested in expanding their experience and knowledge base with exposure to the assembly, testing, and support of the equipment that will be a part of their daily professional lives.
About IT Creations, Inc.:
IT Creations, Inc. is an industry-leading wholesale distributor of high-end IT equipment located in Chatsworth, California and provides custom-configured enterprise solutions to businesses around the world. The company's 35,000 sq. ft. state of the art facility houses thousands of servers, professional workstations, and components from HPE, Dell, Lenovo, IBM, Fujitsu, and many other major manufacturers. By featuring a selection of both new, recertified, and legacy equipment IT Creations, Inc. gives customers options for both performance and budget. Their professional sales staff is fluent in six languages to facilitate international transactions, and can help with choosing the best systems to support your unique business needs.
To learn more, visit www.itcreations.com or connect with IT Creations, Inc. on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.