MANILA, Philippines, Nov. 18, 2019 – Palo Alto Networks (NYSE:PANW), the global cybersecurity leader, today announced a collaboration with Asia Pacific College (APC) to launch the first Cybersecurity Academy in the Philippines. The program is designed to nurture the next generation of the cybersecurity workforce in the Philippines. 

Starting from February 2020, APC will roll out new cybersecurity courses under the academy curriculum to students across all disciplines. In addition to the School of Computing and Information Technologies, students from the School of Management, School of Multimedia and Arts, and School of Engineering will also have the opportunity to enrol in cybersecurity-related courses. 

The courses will provide classroom instruction, as well as technical and hands-on lab training in the newly built laboratory known as “APC Cybersecurity Sandbox, secured by Palo Alto Networks”. Students will go through courses on the cybersecurity landscape and learn how to combat threats. Upon completing the four-year course, each student will be eligible as either a Palo Alto Networks Certified Cybersecurity Associate or Certified Network Security Administrator. 

Dr. Tata Medado, president, Asia Pacific College said, “The vision of APC is to develop talent who have the skills and mindset to take on any challenge in any environment – in both the local as well as international market. With the shortage of cybersecurity professionals being a global challenge, we recognize the importance of cybersecurity education as a fundamental skill that must be learned and applied in various aspects of our daily lives, early on. It is a great honor to be Palo Alto Networks pioneering Cybersecurity Academy in the Philippines, and we look forward to building on this mutually rewarding relationship for many years to come.”   

“To protect our increasingly digital way of life in the Philippines, we need to ensure that there’s a sufficient pool of cybersecurity talent available. We are committed to addressing the talent shortage challenge through this academic partnership and hope that this is the beginning of  many more partnerships in the near future,” said Oscar Visaya, country manager for the Philippines, Palo Alto Networks. 

The course will focus on cybersecurity gateway, infrastructure configuration, and defense and countermeasures. Palo Alto Networks has forged similar academic partnerships with colleges and universities in more than 40 countries in the US, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific. It is dedicated to training the next generation of the security workforce. For more information, please visit the Palo Alto Networks Cybersecurity Academy page.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, the global cybersecurity leader, is shaping the cloud-centric future with technology that is transforming the way people and organizations operate. Our mission is to be the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life. We help address the world's greatest security challenges with continuous innovation that seizes the latest breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, analytics, automation, and orchestration. By delivering an integrated platform and empowering a growing ecosystem of partners, we are at the forefront of protecting tens of thousands of organizations across clouds, networks, and mobile devices. Our vision is a world where each day is safer and more secure than the one before. For more information, visit www.paloaltonetworks.com.

Palo Alto Networks, Prisma, Panorama and the Palo Alto Networks logo are trademarks of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. in the United States and jurisdictions throughout the world. All other trademarks, trade names or service marks used or mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.

About Asia Pacific College

Asia Pacific College (APC) is a Higher Education institution established by SM Foundation and IBM Philippines.  At APC, we continue to provide industry with globally competitive talents. Our approach to education and training: “Real projects. Real learning.” Our students are empowered by Project-based Learning (PBL) and a 6-month intensive and full-time internship program.  We engage industry professionals as mentors as we are in partnership with more than 200 multinational and global companies.

We recently sealed partnerships with global partners to help equip faculty and students with future-proof skills.  These partnerships enable integration of new technologies and solution development tools such as machine learning, robotics process automation, forensics, cybersecurity, across all academic programs: School of Computing and Information Technologies, School of Engineering, School of Management, School of Multimedia & Arts, Senior High School and Graduate School. For more information, visit www.apc.edu.ph.

Media contacts:

Libby Chang
Communications Specialist, Asia Pacific, Palo Alto Networks
+65 9014 9913
libbychang@paloaltonetworks.com

Mary Anne Romero
Marketing Director, Asia Pacific College
+63 917 546 7192
maryannes@apc.edu.ph

Sheila Rada
VP, Dominguez on behalf of Palo Alto Networks
+63 918 902 0722
sheila.rada@dominguez.ph