07-30-2023 EDU - Flipbook - Page 5
The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, July 30, 2023
Students in UMGC's cybersecurity program benefit from having instructors who are working professionals in the field.
Recently, the University of Maryland saw the graduation of the first cohort of students who earned a masters of public service in security and terrorism.
Cutting-edge
technology training
UMD, Loyola University Maryland and
Towson University offer courses in security
and terrorism, artificial intelligence
and cybersecurity
By Alex Keown, Contributing Writer
I
n a rapidly changing world, technology
plays an important role in every facet of
life. Three Maryland universities, Towson
University, University of Maryland and
Loyola University Maryland, offer degree
programs that train students to master different
technology platforms that play roles in multiple
career fields.
Dobin Yim, assistant professor of information systems at Loyola University Maryland’s
Sellinger School of Business who specializes
in technology and artificial intelligence, guides
business students through the rapidly evolving
field of digital technology and provides them
with the ability to strategically use these technologies to improve decision-making. Yim has
spent the past four years as an instructor at the
business school after spending a decade working in the tech industry.
Artificial intelligence is widely used across
multiple industries and academic disciplines.
Yim explained that AI is a broader term, and
underneath that label is machine learning,
which is a more focused use of teaching computers how to behave like humans and carry
out various tasks. Calling it a “beautiful technology,” Yim says it’s a highly useful tool across
industry and academia that can help accelerate the learning process by providing users
with a “general knowledge” of things. He is a
proponent of using the technology as much as
possible.
“It’s changing and evolving at such a rapid
pace. Everyone has recognized the potential
and the impact of what AI can do … it’s making
a big impact,” says Yim, who focuses his own
research on health care and the impact AI can
have on that sector.
For the general public, there are some ethical questions regarding the use of AI programs, such as ChatGPT, which could be used
in unscrupulous manners by having the program write research papers or articles and
then turned in as a student’s own work. Even
before ChatGPT, Yim says there were other
technologies available that helped people cheat.
He intends to have his students use the program
as much as possible over the course of their
education.
“If you’re an early user and learn to use it
as much as possible, the upside is significant.
As an educator, you’re always trying to mitigate
the appeal of cheating as a quick solution and
show that long-term education is a greater
beneficiary,” he says, adding there’s an ongoing
discourse regarding the use of the technology.
Yim added that a technology or tool such as
AI can help accelerate the mundane aspects of
learning. He says it allows students to “further
advance their knowledge journey.” At Towson,
the students are not only taught how AI can
strengthen that knowledge base but are also
provided guidance on the ethics and appropriateness of the technology, Yim adds.
“The most exciting part is making educators rethink about how we teach and what we’re
preparing students for in the future,” Yim says.
In May, the University of Maryland saw the
graduation of the first cohort of students who
earned a masters of public service in security
and terrorism. After three years, 10 students
received their diplomas in this new program.
Previously, a graduate certificate was offered
in this discipline, says Marcus Allen Boyd, the
head of geospatial analysis at the Center for the
Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism
(START) at the university.
The new master’s degree was a response
to student demand. The first 10 students to
complete the program had previously received
the graduate certificate, Allen Boyd says. The
graduate certificate requires the successful
completion of four courses, while the MPS
program requires 12 courses. The first cohort
of students are all working in the intelligence
field, he added.
“It’s fascinating how successful these students have been right out of the gate,” he says.
Courses in this program covers the gamut
of the field, including the psychology of terrorists and groups, societal impacts of terrorism, as
well as legal and criminal approaches to counter
terrorism. There are also courses that examine
how the United States and its competitors relate
to each other with security matters, Allen Boyd
says. Other courses focus on non-state actors,
such as drug cartels and paramilitary organizations. Allen Boyd, who previously worked
as an intelligence analyst, says the courses in
Cutting-edge technology,
continued on page 7
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