Augusta University introduced students, faculty and community members to its new Cyber Institute facility on Friday.

Located on the first floor of University Hall on the Summerville Campus, the almost 9,000-square-foot space has a state-of-the-art cyber lab, a study lounge for students, a cyber coffee bar area and 15 offices.

“This new facility is a game-changer for our cyber faculty and students,” Cyber Institute director Joanne Sexton said. “As the only university in Georgia that has a cyber facility like this, we are proud to continue providing our students with excellence in education.”

In the 1,600-square-foot cyber lab, students will train using software that can create realistic cyber threat simulations. The software also allows professors to easily create various scenarios, helping students develop different cyber skills.

With its six computer pods and video conferencing capabilities, the lab was designed to emphasize teamwork when solving cybersecurity problems. Web conferencing will allow for remote team problem solving with industry and government entities as well as other academic units. Students will also be able to take courses remotely.

“Teamwork is an essential skill for cybersecurity professionals,” Sexton said. “There’s no such a thing as a loner sitting in a dark room hacking into a computer network to steal classified information. Cyber criminals work in teams most of the time. To defeat them, we also need to work in teams. Our new cyber lab will teach students that skill, better preparing them for what they are going to encounter when they graduate.”

When needing a quiet space, students will be able to use the study lounge, which has two computer pods. This space can be connected to the network of the nearby cyber lab, expanding the lab’s capability from six to eight computer pods when needed.

The cyber coffee bar area will give students a space to take breaks and power up their devices.

The $2.5-million Cyber Institute facility will open its doors on Monday, Sept. 19. The cyber lab will host all cybersecurity classes, and the study lounge will be open for students after hours.

The Augusta University Cyber Institute, which provides the framework for all things cyber at the institution, was established in June 2015 to enable, support and champion meaningful, innovative, interdisciplinary research and education for cybersecurity. The institute focuses on collaborative partnerships to impact K-12 and higher education, health care, government and business communities.

Current cybersecurity courses and degrees include advanced cyber defender courses at the Hull College of Business, a medical informatics program through the College of Allied Health Sciences and cyberterrorism courses through the Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. A master of science in information security management will also be offered starting in spring 2017.

For more information on the Cyber Institute and its programs, visit http://cyber.augusta.edu/.