UTEP Cybersecurity Clinic Completes First Year of Free Services for Community
Engineering student cohort now serving El Paso organizations
EL PASO, Texas (Jan. 30, 2026) – The University of Texas at El Paso’s Miners Cybersecurity Clinic has reached a major milestone, completing the first year of students delivering free cybersecurity services to local El Paso organizations.
The completion of the clinic’s first full operational cycle, with an inaugural cohort of nine College of Engineering students, represents a significant step toward the clinic’s goal of training more than 100 students and assisting nearly 30 community organizations by 2030.
Established in 2024 through $1 million in funding from Google’s Cybersecurity Clinics Fund, the Miners Cybersecurity Clinic connects learning with hands-on practice to strengthen the readiness of local organizations for cybersecurity threats, including some that often lack the resources to address growing digital concerns. Through this first cycle, students completed specialized training and are now delivering cybersecurity risk assessments, policy reviews and actionable recommendations to participating local entities at no cost.
“This milestone represents exactly what the Miners Cybersecurity Clinic was designed to do – prepare our students for real-world cybersecurity careers while directly serving our community,” said Monika Akbar, Ph.D., faculty lead and director of the Miners Cybersecurity Clinic. “Our inaugural cohort has demonstrated technical rigor, collaborative spirit and a strong commitment to public service, and their work is already making a meaningful impact across El Paso.”
The clinic focuses on three core goals: training future cybersecurity experts; serving local organizations including small businesses, nonprofits and schools; and building long-term cyber resilience throughout the region. Students gain experience in cybersecurity risk assessment, security policy and workflow evaluation, and client-facing communication while working under the supervision of faculty and industry mentors.
The initiative is supported by Google.org – the company’s philanthropic arm – as part of its broader effort to strengthen cybersecurity capacity and workforce development nationwide.
“Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility, and community-based clinics like UTEP’s play a vital role in expanding access to protection while developing the next generation of cyber professionals,” said Maab Ibrahim, head of economic opportunity at Google.org. “We are proud to support the Miners Cybersecurity Clinic as it completes its inaugural cycle and begins delivering real-world impact for students and organizations in El Paso.”
The inaugural cohort includes:
- Areli B. Agudo-Garcia, senior, computer science
- Braulio J. Banuelos, master’s, software engineering
- Emily K. Fernandez, junior, computer science
- Alejandro Flores, senior, computer science
- Thomas N. Guerra, senior, computer science
- Pablo E. Hernandez, senior, computer science
- Frida M. Pena, junior, computer science
- Dang Pham, senior, computer science
- Antonio Rivera, junior, computer science
For many of these students, the experience represents their first opportunity to apply classroom knowledge to real organizations facing real cybersecurity risks.
“This clinic was a great organization to be a part of. I feel as though I gained irreplaceable experience by conducting in-person client interviews and by having the opportunity to create real-world risk assessment reports based on their cybersecurity profile,” said Alejandro Flores, a member of the inaugural cohort.
“My interest in cybersecurity began back in high school when a ransomware attack disrupted the small business where a family member of mine worked,” junior Emily Fernandez said. “As a member of this clinic, I had the opportunity to transform that passion into action by working directly with local businesses.”
The Miners Cybersecurity Clinic is part of the international Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics, a network of universities dedicated to strengthening local cyber resilience worldwide. UTEP is also a member of the Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions.
The Miners Cybersecurity Clinic will begin accepting applications for its second cohort this summer and select participants in the fall. For more information visit cyberclinic.cs.utep.edu.
Last Updated on January 30, 2026 at 12:00 AM | Originally published January 30, 2026
By MC Staff UTEP Marketing and Communications
