Fortinet, ITLA sign Dominican Republic pact

Fortinet and the Instituto Tecnológico de Las Américas, or ITLA, said on April 7 they had agreed to deepen cybersecurity cooperation in the Dominican Republic through training, certifications and joint academic programs. ITLA announced the pact in a release from Santo Domingo, saying the initiative would focus on strengthening technology education with an emphasis on information security. The school said the plan includes specialized content, international certifications and joint programs tied to labor-market demand. Fortinet did not appear to publish a separate press release on the agreement, but its training programs and regional presence match the structure ITLA described. ### What, exactly, did ITLA and Fortinet say they would do together? ITLA said the alliance covers “certificaciones internacionales,” joint programs and broader academic and technical cooperation with Fortinet. The April 7 release said the parties explored ways to integrate specialized cybersecurity content into ITLA’s academic offering and to build talent in information security. ITLA also said the plan includes training, research and extension initiatives. (itla.edu.do) The same release said hackathons and student competitions focused on cybersecurity are part of the proposed agenda. ITLA said those activities are intended to promote critical thinking and practical skills among students. The institution did not list launch dates, enrollment targets or the financial terms of the arrangement. ### Which Fortinet programs are most likely to show up inside ITLA’s curriculum? (itla.edu.do) Fortinet’s Academic Partner Program gives schools access to Fortinet certification coursework designed to connect classroom training to cybersecurity jobs, according to the company’s training pages. Fortinet says the program works with academic institutions to provide industry-recognized training and certification courses. That lines up with ITLA’s statement that Fortinet certifications would be incorporated into the school’s academic offer. (itla.edu.do) Fortinet said its Training Institute has issued more than 1.8 million certifications to date and offers self-paced, instructor-led and partner-delivered training. The company has also said it aims to train 1 million people in cybersecurity by the end of 2026. ITLA did not specify which Fortinet certification tracks would be used in the Dominican program. ### Why does this fit ITLA’s existing cybersecurity push? ITLA already offers a cybersecurity degree track and short-form cybersecurity courses in the Dominican Republic. (fortinet.com) The school’s program pages say students in its cybersecurity technologist program are trained to design, implement and manage cybersecurity architectures. Its continuing-education catalog also lists introductory cybersecurity workshops and incident-management courses in the 2026-T-2 term. (fortinet.com) A January 28, 2025 ITLA release tied the expansion of its cybersecurity degree offering to the Dominican Republic’s national cybersecurity framework under Decree 685-22. That release said ITLA participates in the specialized technical commission of the National Cybersecurity Center on technology education matters and linked the program to the country’s National Cybersecurity Strategy 2030. ### Who were the named participants in the April 7 meeting? (itla.edu.do) ITLA identified Jimmy Rosario, the institution’s rector, as the senior school official involved in the announcement. Rosario said the partnership reaffirmed ITLA’s commitment to what he called world-class education and training for professionals needed to face digital-era challenges. Hans Fermín, identified by ITLA as Fortinet vice president for northern South America, Central America and the Caribbean, said education is central to building a secure digital ecosystem. (itla.edu.do) ITLA also named Juan Matos, ITLA’s vice rector for extension and social development, and Fortinet representatives Claudio Núñez and Luis Cristian as participants in the meeting. ### What is still missing from the agreement? (itla.edu.do) The April 7 statement did not include a start date, budget, number of students, certificate count or a signed memorandum text. ITLA also did not say whether Fortinet content would be embedded in degree programs, offered as extracurricular training, or delivered through a separate academy structure. Fortinet’s public training materials show the company already runs academic-partner and outreach models that schools can adopt, but neither side has published an implementation calendar for ITLA. (itla.edu.do) For now, the clearest next step is the rollout of certifications, training activities and student events that ITLA said are planned under the April 7 alliance, with Jimmy Rosario, Hans Fermín and their teams named as participants in the initiative.