Broadening Participation in the CyberCorps(R) Scholarship for Service Program

尽管对网络安全专业人员的需求很高，但在招聘历史上在计算领域代表性不足的人群方面进展有限。为了满足这一需求并确保强大的网络安全劳动力，需要一支更具包容性和多样性的劳动力队伍。该项目旨在满足这一需求，并通过扩大参与美国国家科学基金会（NSF）的CyberCorps®服务奖学金（SFS）计划，为国家利益服务。东北大学的包容性计算中心（CIC）将与SFS机构合作，建立包容性环境，并增加所有种族、民族和性别的学生获得网络安全研究生学位的代表性。具体而言，CIC将授权SFS机构建立桥梁项目，将寻求研究生学位的个人与网络安全高级学位联系起来，这些人历来在计算机领域的代表性不足。此类桥梁项目将使个人能够参与，他们可能在计算机以外的学科领域拥有本科学位，在SFS项目地点攻读网络安全高等教育。从人口统计学和社会经济角度来看，为更广泛的人群提供获得网络安全研究生学位课程的途径，对于加强和多样化网络安全劳动力至关重要。在三年的时间里，CIC将与两组最多八所SFS院校（即潜在总数为16所院校）合作，确定和实施在吸引、留住和毕业女性、黑人、非裔美国人、拉丁裔、西班牙裔或土著学生方面已被证明有效的战略。CIC成立于2019年，是一项全国性的努力，旨在增加所有种族和民族的女性在计算机行业的代表性。除了在财政上支持机构外，CIC还提供项目管理、技术咨询、数据收集和可视化服务。该项目的目标是利用CIC的经验，增加女性在计算机领域的参与，并将其更广泛地应用于增加参与SFS项目的学生的多样性和数量，特别是那些寻求研究生学位的学生。为了实现这些目标，CIC将向所有有兴趣并致力于建立桥梁计划的SFS机构发出建议。对于选定的机构，项目团队将进行现场访问，包括在校学生和SFS学者，网络教师，顾问，助教以及相关的主席，院长或教务长。项目团队将编写一份总结报告，与研究所和国家科学基金会分享。该报告将总结中投公司认为将导致人口多样性发生有意义变化的干预措施的调查结果和建议。投资谘询局亦会在两年期间，为选定院校提供支持，提供辅导和支援，并为院校安排在相关领域具有深厚专业知识的顾问。顾问的专业领域将包括但不限于招聘、市场营销、学生指导和支持、相关行业参与和课程开发。该项目由STEM教育中的种族平等项目（EHR种族平等）资助。该项目支持研究和实践项目，调查种族平等因素如何影响科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）教育和劳动力的改善。获奖项目旨在将STEM企业中受系统性不平等影响最大的个人、社区和机构的声音、知识和经验集中起来。该项目符合美国国家科学基金会的核心价值，即支持来自全国不同人口群体、地区和组织类型的杰出研究人员和创新思想家。EHR种族平等的资金来自EHR各个项目，以表彰其项目与董事会四个部门的集体研究和开发重点的一致性。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。

Despite the high demand for cybersecurity professionals, progress in recruiting members of populations historically underrepresented in the computing field has been limited. In order to meet this demand and ensure a robust cybersecurity workforce, a more inclusive and diverse workforce is needed. This project aims to address this need and serve the national interest by broadening participation in the NSF’s CyberCorps® Scholarship for Service (SFS) program. Northeastern University’s Center for Inclusive Computing (CIC) will work with SFS institutions to build inclusive environments and increase the representation of students of all races, ethnicities, and genders earning cybersecurity graduate degrees. Specifically, CIC will empower SFS institutions to build bridge programs that connect graduate degree-seeking individuals from populations, who have been historically underrepresented in computing, to advanced degrees in cybersecurity. Such bridge programs will enable the participation of individuals, who may have their undergraduate degrees in subject areas other than computing, to pursue higher education in cybersecurity at SFS project sites. Creating a path for a demographically and socio-economically broader population to access cybersecurity graduate degree programs is critical to strengthening and diversifying the cybersecurity workforce. Over a three-year period, the CIC will work with two cohorts of up to eight SFS institutions (i.e., for a potential total of 16 institutions) to identify and implement strategies that have been shown effective in attracting, retaining, and graduating students who identify as women, Black, African American, Latino(a), Hispanic or Indigenous. The CIC was created in 2019 as a national effort to increase the representation of women of all races and ethnicities in computing. In addition to supporting institutions financially, the CIC provides program management, technical consulting, data collection, and visualization services. The objectives of this project are to leverage CIC's experience with increasing the participation of women in computing and apply it more broadly to increase the diversity and number of all students participating in SFS projects, with particular attention to those seeking graduate degrees. To achieve these objectives, the CIC will issue a call for proposals to all SFS institutions interested in and committed to building a bridge program. For selected institutions, the project team will conduct in-person site visits involving current students and SFS scholars, cyber faculty, advisors, teaching assistants, and the relevant chair(s), dean(s), or provost(s). The project team will develop a summary report to share with the institution and NSF. The report will summarize findings and recommendations on the interventions the CIC believes will lead to a meaningful change in demographic diversity. The CIC will also support the implementation of selected institutions over a two-year period, providing coaching and support and connecting institutions with consultants with deep expertise in related areas. Consultants’ areas of expertise will include but not be limited to recruiting, marketing, student mentoring and support, relevant industry engagement, and curriculum development.This project is funded through the Racial Equity in STEM Education program (EHR Racial Equity). The program supports research and practice projects that investigate how considerations of racial equity factor into the improvement of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce. Awarded projects seek to center the voices, knowledge, and experiences of the individuals, communities, and institutions most impacted by systemic inequities within the STEM enterprise. This program aligns with NSF’s core value of supporting outstanding researchers and innovative thinkers from across the Nation's diversity of demographic groups, regions, and types of organizations. Funds for EHR Racial Equity are pooled from programs across EHR in recognition of the alignment of its projects with the collective research and development thrusts of the four divisions of the directorate.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.