Raytheon Technologies has contributed a $4 million grant to the newly formed Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering (ASCTE) to support cybersecurity careers across the private and public sectors, the company reported on Tuesday.
"Raytheon Technologies' partnership with ASCTE, Huntsville and the state of Alabama will help our nation meet the demand for a future cyber and engineering workforce, while providing students with the education and skills they need to thrive in these careers," said Roy Azevedo, president of Raytheon Intelligence & Space and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient.
ASCTE is Alabama's only fully public, residential high school for students from across the state's 137 school districts seeking advanced studies in engineering and cyber technology. The curriculum will address the shortage of qualified cybersecurity and engineering development talent.
The permanent facility will open in August 2022, but an interim site at Oakwood University launched on Aug. 17, 2020 to ASCTE's first cohort of 75 students. The school expects to grow to over 350 students by 2024.
Raytheon Technologies has also invested in other STEM programs including, Support of FIRST, a mentor-based global robotics competition; Sponsorship of 22 Boys & Girls Clubs of America STEM Centers of Innovation in military-focused communities; Partnership with NAF to establish engineering academies in under-resourced public high schools across the U.S.
"Advanced cybersecurity capabilities are critical to our national defense today and in the future," said Wes Kremer, president of Raytheon Missiles & Defense. "Through collaborative partnerships like ASCTE, we will grow our capacity in cyberspace to ensure its security for generations to come."
About Raytheon Technologies
Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an aerospace and defense company that provides advanced systems and services for commercial, military and government customers worldwide. With 195,000 employees and four industry-leading businesses ― Collins Aerospace Systems, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence & Space and Raytheon Missiles & Defense ― the company delivers solutions that push the boundaries in avionics, cybersecurity, directed energy, electric propulsion, hypersonics, and quantum physics. The company, formed in 2020 through the combination of Raytheon Company and the United Technologies Corporation aerospace businesses, is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.