From the Corporate World to Higher Ed

When Lloyd Jura, Ph.D., assistant professor of cybersecurity, joined the advisory board for the College of Engineering and Computing Sciences on the Vancouver campus in 2015, he didn’t know his life was about to change forever.

^{Assistant Professor Lloyd Jura, Ph.D.}

“The school was looking for people working in the industry to serve on the board, and, at the time, I was a senior managing consultant, working at IBM,” he remembers. “They then approached me to teach a course in risk management in 2018.” He taught the course and found a new passion. After working for decades in cybersecurity, governance, risk, and compliance for large companies like Fraser Health Authority, ICBC, and Best Buy Canada, Jura realized he had found his true calling as a teacher. “My trajectory was a little different than most. It was the experience of teaching at New York Tech that inspired me to go back to get my Ph.D. so I could teach full time.”

After working several years as an adjunct and completing his Ph.D. , Jura joined the New York Tech faculty full-time in 2023. Also serving as the director of industry outreach at New York Tech-Vancouver, he is passionate about helping students make the leap from school to professional careers. He sees the transition as particularly difficult for students in cybersecurity. “A lot of professors are involved in research and publications. That’s not really where my interest lies. My interest is in bridging the gap between academics and the industry,” he says. “There’s a shortage of cybersecurity professionals, but when our students graduate, it can still be hard to get a job. I want to help address this disconnect.”

To this end, Jura spends much time outside the classroom working with current and former students on their résumés, networking skills, and helping them with mock interviews. “One question I always ask is, ‘Can you tell me about your home network? What kind of security do you have in place?’” According to Jura, even when a student doesn’t have professional experience, they display their interest and know-how by explaining how they secured their information at home. “Employers know you have done your master’s degree, but how keen are you to continue learning in the professional world? How creative can you be? They are looking for curious people because you need to be innovative in your thinking.”

In addition to teaching, Jura is applying his 25 years of experience to running his cybersecurity consulting firm, Jura Technologies. The company works with small- and medium-sized businesses on governance, risk, and compliance issues, helping them institute best practices regarding their security. “When we hear about data breaches on the news, they are always big companies, so smaller companies think they won’t be targeted. But the truth is, small companies are breached every day,” he says. “There are things they can do to protect themselves.” His work doesn’t stop with corporations; Jura also volunteers to help individuals protect themselves in an era when thieves and hackers are lurking behind every computer screen. “People should remain vigilant about securing their information,” he advises. “Don’t forget to monitor your credit.”

While the methods continue to change, Jura says most criminal activity remains familiar. “I always tell my students, ‘The technology keeps getting more complicated, but underneath it all, it’s the same tricks being used. It’s important to know what to look for, whether for a company or an individual.”

By Alix Sobler