July 08, 2022 – Following the partnership and Memorandum of Agreement between St. Paul University Philippines and UK-based Cyber Security firm Secon, the top 5 students from a series of technical examinations and interviews were accepted to undergo the Cyber Academy – Secon’s Cadet Internship Program.

The students who made it to the program’s first Cohort were: Alyssa Jane Villanueva, Francis Prim Pagunuran, Fritze Allen Rae Malana, Miguel Francisco Gamiao, and Jonas Gabriel Rivera, all BSIT 4th year graduating students.

During their 5-month training, the students were able to learn about a comprehensive set of cyber security services and solutions and how they function in a real-world scenario. They were also immersed in Security Operations Centre (SOC) processes, where they were equipped with enough familiarization to continue the tasks should they be offered job posts after the Academy.

Aside from the bridged academic learning to industry experience, all the Cadets were able to pass several global IT Certifications including Microsoft’s Security, Compliance, and Identity. The 700 hours program was completed on June 10, 2022.

Dr. Allan Peejay Lappay, Director for Alumni, External Relations, and Advocacies, lauded Secon for extending its helping arm to the University, “Secon Academy is a futureproof program which transcends University education. The classroom to industry bridged immersion is an enormous assurance that the Interns will indeed start right in their chosen careers. We thank Secon for having St Paul University Philippines as a staunch partner and maiden recipient for this noble advocacy.”

Weeks before their graduation, SPUP takes pride in announcing that the Cadets have already signed job offers to be part of Secon and will start their professional careers as SOC Incident Response Associates.

Dr. Jeremy Godofredo Morales, Director for International Relations, has expressed that “In the era of digital transformation, the necessity for Information Security expertise gets higher by the second. The recent Internship partnership with Secon, a UK-based Cyber Security firm, was the University’s pledge to society. Having learned of the job offers for our fresh graduates through the Academy Program, we are more than elated that St. Paul University Philippines, being an internationally and nationally recognized institution of higher learning, has contributed to the global demand in the Cyber Security workforce.”