Quantitative analysis of comprehension and skill acquisition of engineering students from the cybersecurity virtual internship program

Abstract

Cybersecurity is a vital part of a secure digital world. This paper is about quantitative analysis of the case study of the 8-week virtual internship program in Cyber Security recognized by AICTE and NASSCOM. The program's main objective was to train future professionals to possess good knowledge and skills in cyber security, specifically applying the skills to real-time scenarios. The internship constituted for Cisco Networking Academy institutions’ 2nd & 3rd year engineering students for the academic year 2020-21. Students completed the instructor-led, online self-paced courses: Introduction to Cyber Security (1.5 weeks), Introduction to Packet Tracer (1.5 weeks), and Cyber Security Essentials (2 weeks). Further, the students were invited to attend 5 sessions (1 week) conducted by industry experts to help students become career-ready and understand the career path in the cyber security industry. Furthermore, students worked on a project under the guidance of their instructor to design a secure network for their institution on the Packet Tracer simulation tool (2 weeks). On completion and submission of their project work, students completed the final quiz. Eligible 72 students who completed all the criteria received a virtual internship certificate from AICTE, NASSCOM, and Cisco. Students were evaluated before and after every step of the internship process. It was evident that there is a significantly positive effect of this internship on students’ skill acquisition (98.5%) and comprehension (92.2%) of network topology, (98.2%) of the students acquired a significant level of skills (software initiation skill - 98.7%; configuration skill - 92.3%; redirection skill - 93.1%; simulation skill - 98.7%; and connection skill 95.2- %) and students’ comprehension of network topology and cyber security concept was averagely high (98.8.5 %). The analysis concluded that the cyber security internship activity is a pertinent mechanism for stimulating students’ skills acquisition and comprehension of cyber security concepts, while also recommending that educators should use the Cisco packet tracer to allow students to gain practical and cognitive skills in the areas of computer networks and cyber security