Lover of All Things ICT

ICT teacher, David Brooks, ran several small video game businesses and worked as a field engineer and systems administrator for a computer support business before joining Box Hill Institute in 2008. He has wide experience with computer and network services, ranging from home computers to large commercial enterprises.

David teaches in the Faculty of Creative Industries and ICT, delivering the Advanced Diploma of Cyber Security and lecturing in the Bachelor of Computer Systems and the Graduate Diploma in Cyber Security. He actually studied computer systems at Box Hill Institute from 2002-09.

Over the years, David has continued to learn, studying courses such as the Certificate IV and Diploma in Training and Assessment. He also has a Graduate Certificate in Networking and System Administration, a Master of Networking and Systems Administration, Microsoft Server Technologies, IT Services Management, IT Project Management, and recently completed the Graduate Certificate of Cyber Security.

David said, "Working at Box Hill Institute has been great. I have had several managers who have given me the responsibility of driving innovation and developing our relationship with various IT vendors, which has resulted in partnerships with VMware, Citrix, NetApp, and most recently with Amazon Web Services."

The student experience is what motivates David. He gets immense satisfaction seeing his students acquire new skills and go on to find work in their chosen vocation.

One of David's favourite experiences at Box Hill Institute was the development of a very complex hacking lab, which he created for one of his degree subjects. Students had to attempt to hack into seven Windows systems and six Linux systems, and it took them a long time to figure out how to breach each system and test their cybersecurity knowledge and skills. David said, "I had several students come to me when that subject ended saying it was the hardest subject they had ever done, but also the most satisfying as they figured out how to use their skills to break into each system."

Now one of those students is employed by Amazon Web Services and looks after their cloud infrastructure.

Box Hill Institute has dedicated training labs at its city and Nelson campuses and a Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) at the Nelson campus. David said, "We have excellent resources at Box Hill Institute, including our own private cloud called NetLab."

For those considering enrolling in the Certificate IV in Cyber Security, David encourages you to do some foundational IT training first, especially in networking, operating systems, and introductory programming areas. He said, "Something like a Certificate III or Certificate IV in IT would provide an excellent foundational base of knowledge and skills as the Certificate IV in Cyber Security is not easy and very fast-paced.”