Houston City College is once again proving that its classrooms have no borders.

Dr. Fidelis Ngang, Ed.D., a professor, researcher and ambassador for HCC’s cybersecurity program, recently carried Houston’s growing reputation for technology education across the Atlantic as part of the prestigious U.S. Department of State Fulbright Specialist Program.

During a month-long assignment in Tunisia, Dr. Ngang collaborated with faculty, staff and students at the Higher Institute of Applied Studies in Humanities and Communication, exchanging ideas on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, higher education and the rapidly changing digital world.

And in an era when hackers certainly do not need passports, neither should cybersecurity knowledge.

Fulbright Specialists are selected for their academic and professional expertise and paired with institutions around the world seeking specialized knowledge. For Dr. Ngang, the opportunity became much more than an academic visit. It was also a chance to serve as an international ambassador for Houston City College.

“This school in Tunisia found me, liked my profile, and the U.S. Embassy in Tunisia coordinated the connection,” Dr. Ngang said.

Once there, he encountered students eager to understand how artificial intelligence and cybersecurity will shape tomorrow’s workplaces and societies.

“It was an amazing and rewarding experience,” Dr. Ngang said. “I walked into classrooms and met students with incredible enthusiasm. The faculty and staff were welcoming and eager to exchange ideas.”

His journey also spotlighted something Houstonians have increasingly come to recognize: HCC is building serious technology talent right here at home.

HCC’s Cyber Security Center is nationally recognized by the National Security Agency as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense. Its cybersecurity education emphasizes areas including operating systems, networking, security fundamentals, virtualization, programming and scripting, server administration, network security, computer forensics and ethical hacking.

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That combination of classroom learning and practical preparation gives students an opportunity to enter one of the most consequential fields of the digital age.

Dr. Ngang proudly shared those accomplishments with his Tunisian colleagues while promoting HCC as a welcoming destination for international students.

“It was a point of pride for me to represent the college and our division,” he said.

That pride is backed by an impressive academic journey. Dr. Ngang earned his doctorate in Higher Education Administration from Texas Tech University, a Master of Science in Agricultural Engineering from Texas A&M University, and bachelor’s degrees in civil engineering and computer science from Hohai University in Nanjing, China.

His Fulbright experience represents something larger than one professor’s accomplishment. It reflects HCC’s evolution from a Houston educational institution into an increasingly global force in technology, workforce preparation and innovation.

Houston Style Magazine readers, for Houston students considering cybersecurity, the message is equally powerful: a world-class career can begin close to home — and potentially take you around the world.

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