OWASP Academies

The concept of OWASP Academies
The OWASP Board has decided to start off the process of designing and building a new concept that will be closely linked to the training activities promoted by OWASP and that intends to take this area one step further.

The idea is to create the OWASP Academies – a frame under which work should be done with Universities, Polytechnic Institutes, IT Schools and other Academic institutions with a view to establish solid relationships and develop with these organisms ways to collaborate and participate in the design of courses focused on web application security.

OWASP has the knowledge and critical mass to give an invaluable input to any Academy focusing on this area by:
 * contributing with its expertise in the definition of curricula and course contents that explore and study the web security field;
 * making available to the Academy its pool of interested and willing security experts as trainers.

As mentioned above, this concept is just at its beginning and we do not have, as of yet, a clear methodology or set of rules to implement what hopefully will be a new area of work for OWASP.

What is clear, however, is that to make this happen we will need your input and ideas, your energy and your initiative! Moreover, as we are planning to include this discussion in one of the Working Sessions to be held in the upcoming OWASP Summit 2011, this would be the perfect timing to gather your input and contributions.

Being so, if you have contacts within your local academic communities and would like to be involved in the design and development of this concept, please do get back to me with your thoughts!

I am looking forward to hearing from you!

Sandra Paiva OWASP Training Manager sandra.paiva@owasp.org


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Preparatory meeting for the Summit'11
Following the email sent in October regarding the OWASP Academies and the work OWASP is developing to implement and operationalize this concept, multiple feedback and contributions for the discussion have been received.

We thought that one way to turn the feedback and interest received into something positive and constructive would be to sit the people involved at a table and discuss experiences, views and ideas for the OWASP Academies' operational model. Knowing, for example, how the already established connections with Universities were started and how they are working, what would seem to these partners the most reasonable “next step” in terms of formalization or knowing what, from the Universities’ point of view, would be an interesting model of relationship, could be of great use for our own definition and consolidation of the OWASP Academies concept.

In this context, a meeting will be held on the 5th, 6th and 7th of January, in Lisbon, with a mixed format that aims to fulfil several objectives:
 * We will have two days (5th and 6th January) of working sessions focused on the OWASP Academies where the operational model will be discussed with the intent to prepare a draft that can be presented and debated in the Summit'11;
 * On the third day (7th January), and given that a number of experienced OWASP members will be in Lisbon, we will organize an OWASP Training Day that will help us keeping the media attention on our Organization in the period that precedes the Summit, reinforce the activity of the Local Chapter and maximize the resources available.

The working sessions and Training Day will take place at ISCTE, Lisbon University Institute, in Lisbon.

Unfortunately, due to budgetary constraints, it will not be possible for us to invite all who have contributed for the discussion and pay for their traveling and accommodation. We have therefore devised a criteria of selection for paid invitations that takes into account both the level of engagement in the discussion and the amount of work already done within the Academic community.

Having said that, if you find sponsorship to fund your trip and stay in Lisbon, you will be very welcome to join us – just drop [mailto:sandra.paiva@owasp.org me] a line to let me know you are coming!