NSF INCLUDES Planning Grant: Building Cybersecurity Inclusive Pathways towards Higher Education and Research (CIPHER)

这项NSF INCLUDES规划拨款由美国国家科学基金会全国工程和科学领域未被充分代表的发现者学习者社区（NSF INCLUDES）资助，这是一项全面的国家倡议，旨在通过关注多样性、包容性和扩大STEM的大规模参与来增强美国在发现和创新方面的领导地位。该计划拨款的目标是解决K-16的网络安全教育和培训问题。随着网络威胁日益复杂，任何组织或个人都无法免受网络攻击。一方面，技能差距正在扩大。根据网络安全与教育中心的报告，到2022年，网络安全空缺职位预计将达到180万个。另一方面，国内的网络安全教育和培训机构发现很难跟上对网络人才日益增长的需求。在网络安全方面，K-12教育与大学教育存在显著差距。此外，鉴于网络安全的高度技术性和跨学科性质，实现多样性和包容性是极具挑战性的。教育机构之间缺乏伙伴关系和协调，进一步导致了目前国家网络安全教育格局的差距。该项目旨在为建立面向高等教育和研究的网络安全包容性途径（CIPHER）的国家联盟铺平道路，该联盟将重点关注研究人员-从业者伙伴关系，以发展包容性K-16网络安全教育的基础、理论基础和系统方法，特别是针对社会经济地位较低的学生（SES）。该项目将直接惠及至少10个学区（共175163名学生）和12所高校。从长远来看，它将为包容性网络安全劳动力发展提供必要支持，缓解大规模劳动力短缺问题，并对国民经济和社会多样性产生持久的积极影响。该项目包括一系列规划活动，以吸引所有利益攸关方参与，并为建立密码系统奠定基础。多学科的学者和多领域的实践者将共同努力，充分理解问题，探索设计空间。它将导致根本性的发现，即管理者、教育者、辅导员和家长需要知道什么，能够做什么来支持网络安全教育。其成果包括建立所有利益相关者参与的CIPHER研究人员-实践者伙伴关系，深入了解当前的知识和基础设施差距，以及创建K-16网络安全教育的包容性模式，该模式可以在全国范围内复制，为所有学生提供网络安全教育。该项目将开发包括在线资源在内的一系列有效方式，让代表性不足或服务不足的社区参与进来。这一努力将产生更广泛、更深远的影响，重塑美国K-16网络安全教育的格局。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。

This NSF INCLUDES planning grant is funded by NSF Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (NSF INCLUDES), a comprehensive national initiative to enhance U.S. leadership in discoveries and innovations by focusing on diversity, inclusion and broadening participation in STEM at scale. The goal of this planning grant is to address cybersecurity education and training in K-16.As cyber threats continue to grow in sophistication, no organization or individual is immune to cyberattacks. On one hand, there is a widening skills gap. Unfilled cybersecurity jobs are expected to reach 1.8 million by 2022, as reported by the Center for Cyber Safety and Education. On the other hand, the cybersecurity education and training institutions in the nation have found it difficult to keep pace with the growing demand for cyber talent. There exists a significant gap between K-12 and college education in cybersecurity. Moreover, it is deeply challenging to achieve diversity and inclusion given the highly technical and interdisciplinary nature of cybersecurity. Lack of partnership and coordination between education institutions further leads to gaps in the nation’s current cybersecurity education landscape. The project aims to pave the way for a national alliance for building Cybersecurity Inclusive Pathways towards Higher Education and Research (CIPHER), that will focus on a researcher-practitioner partnership for the development of fundamental, theoretically-grounded, and systematic approaches to inclusive K-16 cybersecurity education, especially for students with low socioeconomic status (SES). This project will directly benefit at least 10 school districts (with a total of 175,163 students) and a dozen colleges and universities. In the long term, it will provide essential support to inclusive cybersecurity workforce development, mitigating the massive workforce shortage and leading to long-lasting positive impacts on the national economy and social diversity. The project includes a series of planning activities to engage a full spectrum of stakeholders and prepare the groundwork for establishing CIPHER. Scholars from multiple disciplines and practitioners from multiple fields will work together to fully understand the problems and explore the design space. It will lead to fundamental findings about what administrators, educators, counselors, and parents need to know and be able to do to support cybersecurity education. The outcomes include the establishment of a CIPHER researcher-practitioner partnership that engages all stakeholders, deep understanding about the current knowledge and infrastructure gap, and creation of an inclusive model for K-16 cybersecurity education, which can be replicated national-wide for bringing cybersecurity education to all students. The project will develop a range of effective ways including online resources to engage underrepresented or underserved communities. This endeavor will lead to broader and profound impacts, reshaping the landscape of K-16 cybersecurity education in the nation.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.