The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will host the 26th annual conference of the Federal Information Systems Security Educators’ Association (FISSEA) March 19-21, 2013, at its Gaithersburg, Md., headquarters.

FISSEA promotes cybersecurity awareness, training and education. The annual meeting is geared toward both new and seasoned security officers, IT managers, information security educators and researchers, cybersecurity trainers and teachers, and those involved in instructional design and curriculum development. It is open to individuals in government, industry and academia.

Cybersecurity awareness has never been more keenly on the minds of employers than today, and this year, planning for and developing a cyber-savvy workforce is a main theme throughout the meeting.

Key talks include “How to Use the National Cybersecurity Workforce Framework” and “How to Plan for Your Cybersecurity Workforce.” Other sessions focus on developing the careers of existing workers in the cyber arena and programs for expanding the available pool of cyber-savvy employees. These talks cover programs such as the Cybercorps Scholarship for Service Program® and others that focus on increasing the role of minorities in cyber security and cross-training wounded veterans.

The conference also prepares attendees for emerging trends with “The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: Sharing the Knowledge of Supply Chain Risk,” “Cyber Security Awareness Training in the Age of Mobile Devices” and a panel on “BYOD: Bring Your Own Device.”

This year, to improve the skills of trainers, conference planners have prepared a session that will be both entertaining and hard work. Competing speakers will vie for best presentation in Pecha Kucha (Lightning Round). The challenge is to present an outstanding training session in 6 minutes and 40 seconds with only 20 slides and no more than 20 seconds spent on each slide.

The winners of the five FISSEA security contest categories and the name of the next FISSEA Educator of the Year awardee will be announced at the conference. For more information and to register, see http://csrc.nist.gov/fissea. On line registration ends March 13th.