Dakota State University CyberCorps SFS Renewal

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Dakota State University will continue its participation in the CyberCorps SFS program to supply highly-qualified people to the government's cybersecurity workforce. Participants of the program will help serve the rapidly expanding demand for cybersecurity professionals needed to secure the national defense. This project will provide scholarship recipients with the education, skills, and competencies needed to play an effective role in the national security space through experiential learning opportunities. Realizing a need in the workforce for diverse perspectives, viewpoints, and backgrounds, the team will work with Dakota State University's organizations supporting underrepresented populations including: Women in Science and Technology (WIST), CybHER, Office of Diversity Services, Veterans Affairs, and area tribal groups. The university also pays special attention to the support and retention of these participants. Scholarship recipients are expected to make broad impacts to education, community, and overall advancement of the cybersecurity field. To make these broader contributions, students will participate in and support outreach events, summer camps, security events, conferences, internships, applied research, and workshops. Overall, the project will have an immediate impact on bettering the nations' cybersecurity posture with well-qualified individuals committed to public service. Dakota State University's CyberCorps program has been a quality source of cybersecurity professionals and boats a 100% job placement ratio of graduates. The project's intended goals are to 1) Recruit quality individuals from diverse and underrepresented populations; 2) Provide applied and hands-on learning experiences based on real-world demands; 3) Engage participants in supporting broader contributions to the cybersecurity community; 4) Supply the government's need for highly trained and dedicated individuals to contribute towards strengthening the national defense. Dakota State University was designated as one of four original Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations (CAE-CO) in 2012 and is furthered by designations as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD, 2004) and a Center of Academic Excellence in Research (CAE-R, 2012). DSU is also one of eight CAE Regional Resource Centers (CRRC). The institution's involvement in the CAE community is complimented by the program team's close working relationships varying government agencies including: National Security Agency (NSA), Navy SPAWAR, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab (JHU-APL), Los Alamos National Lab, Idaho National Lab, MITRE, Sandia National Lab, and the State of South Dakota's Bureau of Information Telecommunications (BIT). Such relationships ensure that graduates of the program align with and accomplish the intended outcome of the CyberCorps SFS program.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.