GoKawiilPRESS RELEASE
WINTER PARK, Fla., April 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Full Sail University announced the upcoming opening of the "Full Sail University IBM Cyber Defense Range powered by AWS and Cloud Range." Set to open in April 2026, the new on-campus learning environment will allow students in the Cybersecurity Bachelor of Science Completion and Information Technology Bachelor of Science programs the opportunity to participate in live cybersecurity attack-and-defense exercises, conduct incident response practices, and apply classroom concepts within realistic simulations that mirror evolving real-world cybersecurity scenarios. This hands-on immersive facility will provide experiential learning opportunities aligned with current industry workforce demands.
New facility expands Full Sail's existing emerging technologies footprint to elevate it's Cybersecurity & IT degrees
"The IBM Cyber Campus is designed to bridge the gap between academic learning and real-world cybersecurity operations," said Rene Plasencia, Florida lead account partner at IBM. We're helping to strengthen Florida's talent pipeline and give students some hands-on experience in realistic, enterprise-scale cyber environments."
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This exciting new space will showcase how IBM Cyber Campus leverages AWS's secure, elastic cloud infrastructure, enabling Full Sail to deploy fully operational Security Operations Center (SOC) training environments. This multi-layered collaboration delivers an immersive, cloud-enabled learning experience that combines real-world cyber incident response simulations, and collaborative visualization environments aligned with National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) frameworks.
This education-to-workforce model establishes a training ground for advanced cybersecurity education, equipping students with hands-on experience similar to defending against realistic cybersecurity attack scenarios and accelerating the development of a skilled, job-ready cybersecurity talent pipeline.
"Our facility has been carefully curated in collaboration with our partners at IBM to enhance the depth of knowledge our students acquire while at Full Sail," said Haifa Maamar, PhD., Executive Director of Emerging Technologies at Full Sail University. "The Full Sail University IBM Cyber Defense Range powered by AWS and Cloud Range strategically connects academic instruction with real-world, industry-specific application, developing the technical expertise, critical thinking, and collaborative capabilities required in today's complex security environment. It represents a significant milestone for our Emerging Technologies programs and directly supports workforce readiness by creating clear pathways for our graduates to enter the cybersecurity industry."
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Housed within the university's existing Emerging Tech Wing, the new Cyber Defense Range will feature:
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