CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (Renewal): Strengthening the Cybersecurity Workforce through an Emphasis on Diversity, Mentoring, and Career Success

该项目延续了德克萨斯大学圣安东尼奥分校(UTSA)的CyberCorps®服务奖学金(SFS)计划。在其存在期间，SFS计划增加了进入劳动力大军和为政府工作的网络安全毕业生的数量。作为一家拉美裔占多数的机构，UTSA将为该领域历来代表性不足的劳动力群体--妇女、残疾人、第一代学生以及参与网络安全的少数群体在总人口中所占比例低于他们的比例--扩大这些成功。该项目通过直接支持SFS学者，并通过吸引更多学生进入网络安全和人工智能(AI)领域，间接加强了科学、工程和信息技术学生的教育和研究基础设施。该项目的教育和职业发展活动将培养一批不同的未来网络安全专业人员，以满足政府网络安全工作人员的严重短缺。UTSA提供高质量、多因素的网络安全学习体验。三所不同的学院(理科、工科和商科)提供网络安全方面的多个学位选择。SFS学者将获得学术和职业成功的指导，通过与组织和社区的真实网络安全项目提供体验式学习，并鼓励他们参加黑客松和网络安全比赛，或与教师一起进行研究，以便在课堂外学习。此外，外联活动将旨在提高圣安东尼奥地区和整个德克萨斯州的高中、社区大学、四年制学位和研究生对网络安全和人工智能机会的认识。该项目的活动将带来一批更多样化的网络安全毕业生，他们受过全面的教育，有信心在政府部门谋职。这反过来将从两个方面改善国家安全：(A)将有更多来自网络安全领域代表性不足的群体在政府部门工作，以及(B)这些训练有素的学生可能会迅速提高工作效率，并能够适应网络安全中快速变化的挑战。该项目由CyberCorps®服务奖学金(SFS)计划支持，该计划为建立或继续开展网络安全奖学金计划的提案提供资金，并与美国国家网络战略保持一致，以培养一支优秀的网络安全劳动力队伍。毕业后，奖学金获得者被要求在联邦、州、地方或部落政府组织的网络安全工作中工作，时间与他们的奖学金支持相同。这一奖项反映了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 continues the CyberCorps® Scholarship for Service (SFS) program at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). During its lifetime the SFS program has increased the number of cybersecurity graduates entering the workforce and those working for the government. UTSA, a Hispanic-majority institution, will expand on these successes for a workforce segment historically underrepresented in the field: women, persons with disabilities, first-generation students, and persons from minority groups whose participation in cybersecurity is below their proportion in the overall population. This project enhances the infrastructure for the education and research of students in science, engineering, and information technology directly by supporting SFS scholars, and indirectly by attracting more students to the cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI) fields. The project's educational and career development activities will prepare a diverse group of future cybersecurity professionals to meet critical shortages in the government cybersecurity workforce. UTSA offers high-quality, multi-factored learning experiences in cybersecurity. Multiple degree options in cybersecurity are available through three different colleges (Sciences, Engineering, and Business). The SFS scholars will be mentored for academic and career success, offered experiential learning through real cybersecurity projects with organizations and communities, and encouraged to participate in hackathons and cybersecurity competitions or pursue research with faculty for learning beyond the classroom. Moreover, outreach activities will aim to increase awareness of the opportunities in cybersecurity and AI among high school, community college, four-year degree, and graduate students in the San Antonio region and throughout Texas. The project activities will lead to a more diverse set of cybersecurity graduates with a well-rounded education and confidence to pursue careers in government. This, in turn, will improve national security in two ways: (a) there will be more students working in government from groups who are underrepresented in the cybersecurity field, and (b) these well-trained students are likely to be productive quickly and be able to adapt to rapidly changing challenges in cybersecurity.This project is supported by the CyberCorps® Scholarship for Service (SFS) program, which funds proposals establishing or continuing scholarship programs in cybersecurity and aligns with the U.S. National Cyber Strategy to develop a superior cybersecurity workforce. Following graduation, scholarship recipients are required to work in cybersecurity for a federal, state, local, or tribal Government organization for the same duration as their scholarship support.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.