IronCircle PR
COLUMBIA, MD — December, 2025 — IronCircle, the AI-powered cyber workforce development platform, today announced a partnership with University of California, Santa Barbara Professional and Continuing Education (UCSB PaCE) to expand access to rigorous, skills-based cybersecurity training across California and beyond, built around real scenarios and performance expectations used by today’s security teams.
The partnership unites UCSB PaCE’s academic leadership with IronCircle’s immersive cyber training platform to empower learners to build practical, job-ready capability. IronCircle’s AI-driven environment integrates hands-on challenges and performance-based certifications that align with UCSB PaCE’s track record of offering IT and Software Engineering courses and expansion into Cybersecurity.
With more than 500,000 cyber roles currently unfilled nationwide, organizations across technology, government, defense, and critical infrastructure urgently need cyber talent who can demonstrate real-world capability. Together, UCSB PaCE and IronCircle will help learners develop the applied skills, technical readiness, and confidence required to succeed in industry-aligned cybersecurity roles, moving beyond multiple-choice assessments to build true operational competence.
“UCSB PaCE has a long tradition of delivering coding and information technology courses grounded in strong academic rigor and practical, experiential learning,” said UCSB PaCE Dean Denis Couturier. “Our partnership with IronCircle enables us to expand into Cybersecurity and offer learners high-quality, hands-on training that reflects the real-world challenges and expectations of today’s technology job market.”
“Partnering with UCSB PaCE gives us the opportunity to expand a training platform rooted in real practice and measurable performance and helps us advance our mission to build the next generation of cyber talent,” said James Foster, CEO of IronCircle. “Together, we’re delivering a modern, skills-driven learning experience that prepares learners to enter the workforce with the capabilities employers expect on day one.”
This partnership supports IronCircle’s vision to modernize cyber education through advanced AI-driven instruction and applied, performance-based learning. IronCircle’s platform blends adaptive coaching, real-time performance feedback, and scenario-driven labs that mirror the environments used by modern security teams. Learners progress from foundational concepts to hands-on exercises, live simulations, and performance-based assessments designed to measure real capability, not memorization. The result is a scalable, outcomes-driven training ecosystem that produces graduates with proven, job-ready skills and gives institutions and employers a dependable framework for developing high-caliber cybersecurity talent.
About IronCircle
IronCircle is redefining cyber education for individuals, universities, and enterprises with the world’s first AI-powered cyber training metaverse. The platform is an adaptive proving ground where learners move seamlessly from theory to hands-on labs to real-world certification. Powered by adaptive AI mentors and immersive, technical environments, IronCircle builds skills through guided practice and performance-based assessments not memorization or multiple choice tests. Learners advance through career-aligned pathways, earning credentials that reflect real capability. The platform is entirely browser-based with no setup, enabling instant access to job-ready experience from anywhere. To learn more, visit ironcircle.com.