Qian Wang, a recent graduate of the department’s Master of Science in Security Informatics program, attended the 2024 RSA Conference in San Francisco in early May. The conference featured talks and presentations from cybersecurity experts in industry, academia, and government.
Wang was selected to attend the conference as part of the RSAC Security Scholar program, which connects the brightest up-and-coming cybersecurity students to thought leaders, industry luminaries, peers, and conference attendees.
This was Wang’s first conference. He attended several sessions specifically for students that offered opportunities for networking, learning from experts, and connecting with peers. During one evening of the conference, Wang participated in a dinner that connected RSA Conference Security Scholars with industry and military experts.
“Hearing from the experts about their experiences was very useful,” Wang said.
He said that he was most excited to attend the expo portion of the event, where companies and other groups displayed artificial intelligence products and demonstrated how they use AI in their work. Another opportunity that he described as exciting and valuable was the conference’s Innovation Sandbox, which featured 10 teams that presented their ideas and fielded questions from a panel of experts.
As an RSAC Security Scholar, Wang will receive a complementary pass to attend the conference for the next two years.