Renewal: SFS @ Northeastern - a multi-disciplinary approach

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Northeastern University, one of the sixteen National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations, proposes to continue and expand its participation in the CyberCorps(R) Scholarship for Service (SFS) program to prepare highly-qualified cybersecurity professionals for entry into the government workforce. The students supported by this grant will develop the necessary skillset to serve the nation in securing its cyber infrastructure. The project will have an immediate impact on the information assurance and forensics capabilities of the federal workforce by developing well-trained cybersecurity professionals. The University has received all three designations available for Centers of Academic Excellence, in Information Assurance Education, Research and Cyber Operations. Together with its nationally-recognized Cooperative Education, Northeastern University is well-positioned to attract and educate strong students in multi-disciplinary programs in Information Assurance. The University has established a well-designed infrastructure to manage and to support the SFS program on campus and continues to recruit a diverse group of under-represented students to this program. The University also works with a variety of local community colleges to plan pathways for adult learners to go into the field of cybersecurity. Northeastern will continue to build a community among SFS students through activities, such as Capture-the-Flag, Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, Hackathon and the Speaker Series.Northeastern University is committed to advancing the nation's cybersecurity capability by recruiting and educating strong students for the next generation of cybersecurity professionals, and engaging faculty and students in the forefront of research in related areas. The University's education and research programs in cybersecurity are fundamentally multi-disciplinary. They provide students with theoretical foundations in the principles of information assurance, but they also focus on developing ethical behavior, practical skill sets through team-based projects, hands-on activities, and security-related cooperative education assignments. Many of these students come from various backgrounds, ranging from Political Science and Criminal Justice to Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Physics. Since cybersecurity involves both the technical and behavioral sciences, the fact that each student brings a different perspective to the discipline contributes to a better understanding of the issues and their solutions. The George J. Kostas Research Institute for Homeland Security, established through alumni donation, fosters collaborative, use-inspired, research aimed at expanding the capacity of communities, critical systems, and infrastructure to withstand, respond to, and recover from man-made and natural catastrophes. Activities associated with the Institute will further facilitate exchanges between government and academia regarding recruitment, education, and academic research in cybersecurity.