SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio is the cybersecurity hub of the south. UTSA is working to prepare students for the evolving tech workforce. 

Haven Katara earned a computer science degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio. She’s one of nearly 6,000 UTSA students enrolled in AI, cyber, computing and data science degree programs. “There’s so many things that this technology hasn’t yet been used for,” said Katara.

An AI conference helped Katara narrow her focus. “I’m finally having my light-bulb moment,” Katara said. “I don’t know quite what all this is, but I want to do it.”

Katara is all in on AI in hopes that this research will help people. “AI is a tool,” Katara said. “It’s something to be used alongside things. It’s not something to replace the important people. It’s there to help them. That way they can do their jobs even better than they already are.”

Other students are on the same wave. Since 2019, UTSA has seen enrollment in these tech degree tracks increase by 31%. This has led the university to establish a new college. Putting those majors, currently spread across four colleges, under one umbrella.

“There is a high demand for student body, from industry and from the community,” said Dr. Jianwei Niu, UTSA’s interim dean of University College.

Niu is a computer science professor at UTSA. She says the growth of AI and cybersecurity has surged in health care, finance and manufacturing.

“Encourage students to pursue careers in this field is critical,” Dr. Niu said. “Because of the high demand for professionals in those areas.”

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 35% increase in data scientist and cybersecurity jobs nationally over the next decade. According to Cyberseek, in Texas alone, there are over 46,000 job opportunities in those fields.

“I think UTSA has the opportunity to fill San Antonio’s national reputation as the largest cybersecurity hub,” Dr. Niu said.

Dr. Niu says this college will centralize faculty expertise as new technology emerges.