Attracting and Cultivating Cybersecurity Experts and Scholars through Scholarships

通过奖学金吸引和培养网络安全专家学者

• 批准号: 1930282
• 负责人: Katerina Goseva-Popstojanova
• 金额: $ 100万
• 依托单位: West Virginia University Research Corporation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2024-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1930282&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Attracting; Cultivating; Cybersecurity; Experts; Scholars

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need. Over its 5-year duration, this project will fund 120 annual scholarships to approximately 40 students pursuing B.S. degrees in Computer and Information Sciences with specialization in Cybersecurity. First-year students will receive up to four-years of scholarship support. Students who become eligible upon deciding to pursue a major or an Area of Emphasis in Cybersecurity after the first year will receive two or three years of scholarship support. Cybersecurity is of critical importance to the U.S. economy, public safety, national security, and the nation's critical infrastructure. This project will address the high demand for cybersecurity professionals by recruiting academically talented students with demonstrated financial need and providing them with the resources necessary to succeed in their undergraduate education and become globally competitive cybersecurity experts. Furthermore, the project aims to broaden the participation of women and other underrepresented groups in the Cybersecurity area. This project is expected to provide a significant contribution to the emerging knowledge-base of Cybersecurity education, including strategies that may be implemented by other institutions. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. Specifically, this project aims to address the governmental and industry need for highly skilled cybersecurity experts. It has the following goals: (1) increase the annual enrollment of undergraduate students with specialization in Cybersecurity; (2) enhance curricular and extra-curricular student support services and activities for students; (3) strengthen partnerships with computer and information technology employers; and (4) investigate the impact of the curricular and co-curricular activities on student success. Though significant research has been done for other STEM fields, cybersecurity is a new field of study and factors affecting student recruitment, academic success, retention, and persistence to graduation within this field are not yet known. The project research questions are focused on (1) measures of student success; (2) discovering which aspects of the project are most impactful for students; (3) identifying student strategies for overcoming academic challenges; and (4) the impact of the program on students in terms of academic motivation, grit, outcome expectations of students, and retention. Measures of student success and persistence will be collected and analyzed against a comparison group to determine if the specific student engagement interventions make a significant difference in student success, retention, and persistence to graduation. The project will be evaluated using a mixed methods approach using information from student records, surveys, and student feedback. Results of this project will be made available through relevant web media, peer-reviewed publications, and presentations in regional and national STEM communities. This project is funded by NSF's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students.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.

该项目将通过支持表现出经济需要的成绩优异的低收入家庭学生的保留和毕业，满足国家对受过良好教育的科学家、数学家、工程师和技术人员的需求。该项目为期5年，每年将为大约40名攻读计算机和信息科学（网络安全专业）学士学位的学生提供120份奖学金。一年级学生将获得长达四年的奖学金支持。在第一年后决定攻读网络安全专业或重点领域的学生将获得两到三年的奖学金支持。网络安全对美国经济、公共安全、国家安全和国家关键基础设施至关重要。该项目将通过招募学术上有才华、有经济需求的学生，为他们提供必要的资源，使他们在本科教育中取得成功，成为具有全球竞争力的网络安全专家，从而满足对网络安全专业人员的高需求。此外，该项目旨在扩大妇女和其他代表性不足的群体在网络安全领域的参与。该项目预计将为新兴的网络安全教育知识库做出重大贡献，包括其他机构可能实施的战略。该项目的总体目标是提高有经济需求的低收入、高成就本科生的STEM学位完成率。具体来说，该项目旨在解决政府和行业对高技能网络安全专家的需求。其目标如下：(1)每年增加网络安全专业本科生的招生人数；(2)加强为学生提供的课内外学生支援服务和活动；(3)加强与电脑及资讯科技雇主的伙伴关系；(4)调查课程和课外活动对学生成功的影响。尽管对其他STEM领域已经进行了大量研究，但网络安全是一个新的研究领域，影响该领域学生招生、学业成功、保留和毕业坚持的因素尚不清楚。项目研究问题集中在(1)学生成功的衡量标准；(2)发现项目的哪些方面对学生影响最大；(3)确定学生克服学业挑战的策略；(4)该计划对学生的学习动机、毅力、学生的结果期望和保留率的影响。学生成功和坚持的衡量标准将被收集起来，并与对照组进行分析，以确定特定的学生参与干预措施是否对学生的成功、坚持和毕业坚持产生重大影响。该项目将采用混合方法评估，使用学生记录、调查和学生反馈的信息。该项目的结果将通过相关的网络媒体、同行评议的出版物以及区域和国家STEM社区的演讲提供。该项目由美国国家科学基金会的科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金项目资助，旨在增加有经济需求的低收入学术天才学生在STEM领域获得学位的人数。它还旨在改善未来STEM工作者的教育，并为低收入学生提供有关学业成功、留校、转学、毕业和学术/职业道路的知识。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

On the ACCESS Project Support for Students’ Academic Success in the Cybersecurity Field

关于 ACCESS 项目对学生在网络安全领域学业成功的支持

• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: ASEE annual conference exposition proceedings
• 作者: Goseva-Popstojanova, K;Carll, E;Hensel, R.
• 通讯作者: Hensel, R.

Building S-STEM scholars' knowledge and skills through technical and career-development seminars

通过技术和职业发展研讨会培养 S-STEM 学者的知识和技能

• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: ASEE annual conference exposition proceedings
• 作者: Goseva-Popstojanova, Katerina;Carll, Erin;Litzler, Elizabeth;Hensel, Robin
• 通讯作者: Hensel, Robin

Development of a Cybersecurity Professional Identity

网络安全专业身份的发展

• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: ASEE annual conference exposition proceedings
• 作者: Hensel, Robin;Goseva-Popstojanova, Katerina
• 通讯作者: Goseva-Popstojanova, Katerina

Sense of Belonging in Cybersecurity Field of Study

网络安全研究领域的归属感

• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: ASEE annual conference exposition proceedings
• 作者: Hensel, R;Goseva-Popstojanova, K;Sarwari, S.
• 通讯作者: Sarwari, S.

Educating the Next Generation of Cybersecurity Experts

教育下一代网络安全专家

• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Virtual Conference
• 作者: Katerina Goseva-Popstojanova, West Virginia;Robin A.M. Hensel, West Virginia
• 通讯作者: Robin A.M. Hensel, West Virginia