Ground Breaking Security Initiatives

Symantec Donation To Establish Ground Breaking Security Initiatives At The University of Auckland Business School

The University of Auckland, New Zealand’s largest university has become the first educational institution in the world to partner with Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC), the international leader in Internet security technology, to build an information security laboratory on campus.

Symantec will provide The University of Auckland Business School with products and services to the value of NZ$300,000 which includes leading edge security products, a new server and Symantec software as well as technical support, updates and upgrades over the next five years. This semester, stage three Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Science students will be the first to use the laboratory.

Dean of The University of Auckland Business School, Professor Barry Spicer, says they are delighted to have the support of the world’s leading Internet security company.

“Businesses and universities worldwide are recognising the fundamental importance of information security to the modern economy. This is an area where The University of Auckland Business School is determined to lead the field in both education and research,” he says.

Spicer says the Internet security industry alone is worth US$7 billion already and is expected to be over US$12 billion by 2005. “The amount of business that it protects everyday is almost immeasurable,” he says.

Symantec’s President and Chief Operating Officer John Schwarz, who recently visited Auckland to sign the Heads of Agreement, said that the company has a strong tradition worldwide for supporting leading educational institutions and their efforts to bring information security as a field to the fore.

“This is another important step in Symantec’s overall efforts to support and encourage universities around the world to produce more Internet security professionals and develop the talented workforce needed to create the technological advances of tomorrow,” says Schwarz.

Symantec Country Manager for New Zealand, Richard Batchelar, says the Business School has recognised the importance of linking Internet security to all their business, economic and management disciplines.

“This initiative between Symantec and The University of Auckland Business School is a perfect example of the type of public/private partnership that is needed for our country to meet the challenges of today's cyber threats, be it in the area of security training, the development of additional research or the sharing of information between public and private entities regarding Internet security,” said Batchelar.

The partnership with Symantec is part of the university’s NZ$110 million project to develop a world class, international business school at The University of Auckland. The New Zealand Government will match donations dollar-for-dollar up to NZ$25 million under the Partnership for Excellence programme.

The money will be spent on attracting and retaining quality staff, supporting research activities, course and programme development, and the construction of new world class facilities.

This arrangement follows Symantec’s sponsorship of a Fellowship in the United States at the Purdue University’s Centre for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS) programme. The Fellowship will be awarded to one student in April 2003 and will cover tuition costs for a student attending Purdue’s two-year graduate programme in Internet security, beginning in the second half of 2003. In addition, Symantec also supports universities by offering corporate spokespersons for seminars and lectures to students and faculties. Symantec also provides feedback on the research conducted by universities and input on areas that the industry deems important to help direct the focus of study by universities in Internet security issues.

© Scoop Media