Cyber-Centric Multidisciplinary Security Workforce Development

该项目在阿肯色州的旗舰大学阿肯色大学设立了网络兵团服务奖学金(SFS)计划，旨在招募、指导、教育和培训网络安全关键领域的学生。来自多个学科的本科生、硕士和博士生将参加该项目。参与这项工作的三个主要部门是计算机科学和计算机工程、电气工程和工业工程。利用校园现有的安全研究和教育资源，拟议的SFS计划将为学生学者提供以网络为中心的多学科安全培训，涵盖网络安全、交通安全和关键基础设施安全。这些地区中的每一个都有一个成熟的研究中心。这些中心的工作人员将与学生群体密切合作，培训和监督他们的教育。这些团队还将有机会对参与研究中心正在进行的以网络为中心的前沿跨学科安全项目进行研究。此外，这一努力将寻求与西北阿肯色州社区学院(NWACC)建立牢固的合作伙伴关系，为在NWACC学习的学生开发途径，让他们从学士学位开始，直到获得相关领域的博士学位。在整个计划中，所有参与的学生都将获得联邦机构的实习机会，包括情报界。完成后，这一努力被认为是通过培养一支具有全球竞争力的以网络为中心的安全劳动力来提高我国的网络防御能力。阿肯色大学是国土安全部/国家安全局在网络防御研究方面的学术卓越中心，这项SFS工作由阿肯色州安全研究和教育研究所(ASCENT)领导，该研究所是由交叉研究和教育推动建立的。由于该项目的重点是以网络为中心的安全教育，每个学生学者将被要求参加12小时(4门课程)的网络安全课程，包括一门必修课。将开发一个在线背景研讨会系列，为非计算机专业的学生准备参加公共课程。非计算机专业的学生如果在网络领域有足够的知识，将被允许在自己的领域内用一门与安全相关的课程取代一门网络安全课程。每年夏天，所有学生学者都可以在政府机构实习，以获得在这些机构工作的实际经验，并允许这些机构培训和评估这些学生在毕业后的就业情况。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project establishes the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (SFS) program at the University of Arkansas, the flagship university in the State of Arkansas, with the goal to recruit, mentor, educate, and train students in the critical field of cybersecurity. Students from multiple disciplines at the undergraduate, MS and PhD levels will participate in the program. The three major departments that participate in this effort are Computer Science and Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Industrial Engineering. Leveraging the existing security research and education resources on campus, the proposed SFS program will provide the student scholars with cyber-centric multidisciplinary security training across cybersecurity, transportation security and critical infrastructure security. Each of these areas has an established research center. Personnel of these centers will work closely with student cohorts in training and supervising their education. These cohorts will also have the opportunity to carry out research in cutting-edge cyber-centric interdisciplinary security projects that are being conducted at the participating research centers. Furthermore, this endeavor will pursue a strong partnership with the Northwest Arkansas Community College (NWACC) by developing pathways for students studying at NWACC to pursue advanced degrees starting with a BS and leading up to a PhD in related areas. Throughout the program, all participating students will get internship opportunities at federal agencies including the intelligence community. When completed, this endeavor is deemed to increase our nation's cyber defense capability by producing a globally competitive cyber-centric security workforce. The University of Arkansas is a DHS/NSA Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Research and this SFS effort is led by the Arkansas Security Research and Education Institute (ASCENT), which was established with cross-cutting research and education thrusts. Since this project's focus is cyber-centric security education, each student scholar will be required to take twelve hours (four courses) of cybersecurity courses, including a required course. An online background seminar series will be developed to prepare non-computer students for taking the common course. Students from non-computer majors who have adequate knowledge in the cyber field will be allowed to substitute one cybersecurity course with a security-related course in their own area. Internships at government agencies will be available for all student scholars every summer to both equip them with practical experience in working in such agencies and to allow the agencies to train and evaluate these students for placements after their graduation.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.