MeriTalk compiles a weekly roundup of contracts and other industry activity. Here’s what happened this week in the Federal Information Technology community. […]

IBM’s school in New York City, Pathways in Technology Early College High School, combines a high school and college program, which ensures that each student receives an associate’s degree within six years. […]

The U.S. Education Department launched the EdSim Challenge on Wednesday for simulation-based learning solutions. The cash prize pool includes $680,000 with additional winnings from IBM, Microsoft, Oculus, and Samsung. The challenge asks virtual reality specialists, video game developers, and education professionals to create ideas for educational simulations that would prepare students for future careers. […]

The Interior Department’s Investigator General found about 90,000 critical and high-risk vulnerabilities on the 3,684 devices that were tested. […]

IBM’s supercomputer, Watson, is advising third-grade math teachers on personalized lesson plans for free. […]

They’re not exactly “Wolverine” and “Rogue” of the X-Men fictional superhero franchise, but IBM is betting on its new X-Force Red unit of world-class cybersecurity experts to help the company continue the expansion of its security consulting and services business. The company announced that X-Force Red will consist of hundreds of security experts based in dozens of locations around the world. […]

Industry executives urged the Federal government to do more to advance the use of blockchain technology to secure online financial transactions, and to get behind nationwide adoption of cybersecurity insurance. […]

Tech Data released Tech Data Cyber Protect, a program aimed at providing subscription-based cybersecurity solutions to cash-strapped government agencies. IBM provides the security software and Tech Dataprovides the services. […]