The certification was facilitated through SISAP's Information Risk & Security Institute (IRSI), whose syllabus consisted of 4 hours of classes per day for 8 and a half months. The classes were conducted in virtual format, with the support of 30 instructors and cybersecurity professionals.

The first place in the course went to Salvadoran Byron Méndez, who is a student in Computer Science Engineering at the Universidad Don Bosco de El Salvador and learned about the program through an email from the university. In search of expanding his knowledge in Cybersecurity, he decided to apply and now he is the winner of the highest average of the sixth promotion and student #1 among 56 students in the region.

For Byron, the program was a positive experience that allowed him to develop soft skills with the help of different courses, as well as to better interact with others and himself. It also allowed him to remember and reinforce security and malware concepts acquired in the career, expanding each of them with the opportunity to put them into practice.

Byron motivates more salvadoran youth and students to study in the field of Cybersecurity, encouraging them to seek opportunities like this to specialize and train as professionals. "My advice is that, even if you feel hesitation or fear of starting a new challenge, don't let that stop you from taking advantage of opportunities like IRSI. The first step is the hardest, but along the way we meet people who make the experience better and help us move forward".

Antonio Cabrera, director of SISAP's IRSI, shared during the graduation ceremony that half a million professionals are needed in Latin America to fill cybersecurity positions and market needs. "This program seeks to teach and prepare university students and IT professionals in the area of Cybersecurity so that they have the necessary skills and become part of the protection system that the region needs. At SISAP we are very proud to see the achievement that the 56 students have reached, and will continue to reach in their professional development", he said.

Cabrera mentioned that at the beginning of the program 95 students enrolled and 56 of them completed the certification. The three students with the highest averages are professionals from El Salvador and Nicaragua:

Byron Méndez, student from El Salvador: 95.85 points final average.

José Vargas, student from Nicaragua: 95.45 points final average.

Wilfredo Acosta: student from El Salvador: 95.10 final grade point average.

Graduation sixth graduating class IRSI 2023

In each country, a graduation ceremony was held simultaneously for the students, each one receiving a diploma certifying the learning and experience acquired during the more than 700 hours of training that the program lasted.

Byron Laines, a graduate of the program, shared a few words on behalf of all his classmates: "This achievement that we reached today came with a lot of hard work, effort and teamwork, but we can feel satisfied with what we have achieved. Thank you SISAP for blessing our lives and multiplying our talents; thanks also to the instructors for passing on their knowledge without any interest other than making this world a safer place", he said.

Translated by: A.M