Академия UserGate в составе экосистемы UserGate SUMMA развивает культуру безопасности на российском IT-ландшафте

UserGate is expanding and updating its UserGate SUMMA ecosystem: now the company will ensure information security through a set of protective measures. One of them — along with products, technologies, and cybersecurity services — is the UserGate Academy. It also helps solve the current problem of personnel shortage. The development of this area was announced on April 17 during a press conference at an event dedicated to addressing issues in the field of information security, UserGate Open Conf, at the Hyatt Regency Moscow Petrovsky Park congress center.

According to the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media, the shortage of personnel in the IT industry reaches 700,000 people, and according to business estimates, this figure is 1 million people. The shortage of cybersecurity, DevOps, and artificial intelligence specialists is particularly acute. This is due to the influence of a number of factors: the demographic crisis, the rapid development of technology, the outflow of qualified specialists abroad, as well as the large-scale transition to domestic software, which requires additional expertise and human resources. Russian universities do not have time to compensate for this shortage, and their programs lag behind the pace at which the IT landscape is changing. In addition, graduates lack practical experience.

«The mission of the UserGate Academy is to form an information security culture in the IT market as a whole. We pay increased attention to working in this area: we cooperate with universities, share knowledge with our partners, and increase our own expertise,» says Margarita Zaitseva, Director of the UserGate Academy. «All our activities are aimed at stimulating the study of our product. The effect can be measured by the number of specialists who are trained in our programs. Now it is almost three thousand people. These are students who have studied our solution to one degree or another in their educational institutions or authorized training centers. Among them are students who are writing theses on UserGate products. We invest in the development of young specialists who will then come to work for us. Or they will work with our solution at our partners or clients.»

The UserGate Academy helps to cope with these challenges. Thanks to the cooperation of the vendor and the best universities in the country, more and more competent IT specialists are appearing on the labor market who are able to get involved in real projects while still in college. In 2023, the Academy launched the UserGate Educational Partnership program, aimed at supporting educational institutions. Students of universities participating in them are provided with a complete educational and methodological complex for UserGate programs.

The UserGate Academy cooperates with more than 40 leading Russian universities. The Academy opens joint classes, develops, trains and advises teachers, and creates laboratory stands. The UserGate Academy regularly holds Olympiads, championships, hackathons, and master classes. University students have the opportunity to undergo internships and internships at the company. The Academy also has a scholarship program and free certification for students.

Certification at the UserGate Academy is available not only to students — it is available to everyone who wants to improve and confirm their qualifications. Certification at the Academy can be completed both in person and remotely — 49 out of 89 applicants successfully passed the exam and received state-recognized certificates. In total, over the entire existence of the Academy, more than 4,500 people have been trained in its various programs.

«The Faculty of Applied Informatics of ITMO University carries out productive cooperation with UserGate in the preparation of masters in the field of "Programming and Infocommunications". Interaction with UserGate allows the faculty to integrate modern approaches to teaching in the field of information security into the educational process. Of particular value to us is the access of our students to methodological materials developed on the basis of the company's industrial experience, as well as to advanced industry solutions in the field of information security and access management,» commented Artem Beresnev, Deputy Dean, Senior Lecturer of the Faculty of Applied Informatics of ITMO.