Texas A&M IT Wins Center For Digital Government Award

Texas A&M University’s Division of Information Technology recently won a Best of Texas award for Innovation in Gamification for its 2018 cybersecurity awareness campaign.

The award, presented by the Center for Digital Government, annually highlights IT professionals and local government organizations for their contributions and dedication to advancing information technology.

The campaign, Aggie LIFE, is a “digital board game” that teaches players about cybersecurity best practices in a fun, innovative way. Xavier Porter, creative manager for the Division of IT, accepted the award on behalf of the division at the Texas Digital Government Summit in Austin. He has worked on the university’s cybersecurity awareness game since 2013.

“Working with the team on this project every year is as challenging as it is fun,” Porter said. “Every year we approach the game with a new vision, trying to stretch the creativity of what we’ve done in the past but with the same end goal in mind — cybersecurity education made entertaining.”

Dr. Michael A. Sardaryzadeh, Associate Vice President for Cybersecurity, Policy and Compliance and the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for Texas A&M, agreed and said he is glad the university is recognized for its dedication to cybersecurity.

“We are extremely honored to receive this award,” he said. “Texas A&M regards cybersecurity as a top priority and is committed to campus education on the subject. We like making cybersecurity education both entertaining and effective.”

More cybersecurity games are available on the Division of IT website.