No doubt, these are challenging times. Aside from dealing with all the stress at home, where those of us with kids are seeing them face anxiety adjusting to a normal they were never prepared for, we also, as adults, are learning to work differently. From constant video calls, virtual check-ins, and even virtual happy hours, we are creating the world we had all envisioned a while back when we talked about becoming digital. It’s happening right before our eyes, whether we like it or not, and some of the effects just may find a permanent place in the world to come.
We are noticing this in learning. Children all over the world have been forced into a fully online environment, socializing in chat rooms and learning via applications. We have yet to prove the efficacy of all this, yet at this point we really have no choice but to accept it. When things get back to normal, and they will, we may find ourselves eager to swing the pendulum all the way back to a fully analog learning environment, but we have to admit that some of the change that is happening is long overdue. Professors and teachers hanging on to the old way of teaching are forced into a new world. Students are learning how to be accountable for their work, without the in-person oversight they were once used to. Learning is evolving.
At ISACA, we are changing, too. For one, in the past, we required every exam-taker to go to a testing center to take one of our core certification exams. This ensured security. Now, as test centers all over the world close due to COVID-19, we are moving to remote proctoring. In a few weeks, all our exams – from certificates to full certifications – will be proctored remotely. This requires stricter controls, and we are ready for it. While this is a temporary measure for now, we may find that, if successful, this becomes the new way we do things.
Further, all our courses, conferences and learning offerings are moving online. While we have done online courses in the past, we have never been faced with the task of moving everything online – quickly. Fortunately, we recently moved to a new webinar provider that brings stability and tremendous functionality – for both webinars and virtual summits. Next up is an accelerated move to launching a new learning platform, which will completely change how everything at ISACA is delivered. More content and labs to help students demonstrate proficiency through performance, gamification to motivate engagement and participation and new learning objectives to cater to different modality preferences are all on the horizon in the coming months. We are excited to be launching the next phase in learning at ISACA.
We are also looking to offer new certificates and certifications at this critical time. Having spent my entire career in education, I have come to learn that in times of economic downturn, those affected turn to learning to enhance their resumes, preparing them for the next opportunity. While some of this was planned long before COVID-19 was even in our vocabulary, we have a number of new certifications and certificates coming this year to help our constituents demonstrate their skills and experience. First, in the coming weeks, we will be launching our new certification in privacy, focused on the technical privacy practitioner, to help more organizations think about privacy in the design of the products, not just as a regulation that needs to be adhered to after the fact. Our Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer (CDPSE) certification fills a market gap. While there are some very strong privacy-related certifications available, none will get into the technical side of privacy like ours does. The program will focus on the technical aspects required to ensure that personally identifiable information (PII) is kept confidential and managed appropriately. We will focus on three main domains – privacy governance, privacy architecture and the data lifecycle. Check out our website and social media channels for more information in the weeks to come. Also, keep on the lookout for other certifications and certificates being made available this year – regardless where you are in your career.
There is a lot happening in the world. Every organization is trying to do its part. For us, the focus is on learning and how we can help our amazing professionals weather the storm and come out stronger on the other end. We talk and teach a lot about resilience. Never has there been a better time to practice what we preach and prove that we can change and get better.
Thank you for being part of ISACA. We, like you, are always learning. Please share your feedback on how we can support you during these times of transition.