Collaborative Research: CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (Renewal): Strengthening the National Cybersecurity Workforce with Integrated Learning of AI/ML and Cybersecurity

全国范围内网络安全专业人员的短缺日益严重，特别是在联邦政府和国防关键基础设施中，这要求采取战略措施来加强国家的网络安全能力。田纳西大学查塔努加分校（UTC）和塔斯基吉大学（TU）正在继续其成功的合作网络军团服务奖学金（SFS）项目。该更新计划旨在培养更多具备综合网络安全和人工智能（AI）能力的充分准备的SFS毕业生，并将他们安置在联邦政府中，以应对因快速发展的人工智能技术而加剧的网络安全威胁。该更新计划的总体目标是招募和留住来自不同背景的有才华的学生，为他们的网络安全职业做好准备，通过科学硕士（MS）学位课程成功指导他们，并将他们安置在符合SFS就业安置要求的网络安全职位上。协同SFS更新将纳入一系列创新，如跨网络安全和数据科学的多个项目路径，增强嵌入式人工智能组件的网络安全培训，为非计算背景的杰出学者提供包容性项目路径，重点招聘联邦服务能力，以联邦就业为重点的职业指导，准备与不同个人合作，以及团队建设活动。这些创新，加上UTC和TU的互补优势，协同努力和积累的经验，将确保更新计划实现其三个目标：1)招募和留住有才华，有能力和多样化的SFS学者；2)通过支持服务实现学者成功；3)提高SFS学者的就业准备。为了增强包容性，更新计划将支持联合技术大学和工业大学的三种项目路径：三年制学士+硕士学位，两年制硕士学位和三年制硕士学位。该项目由网络军团服务奖学金（SFS）项目支持，该项目资助建立或继续网络安全奖学金项目的提案，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，奖学金获得者必须在联邦、州、地方或部落政府组织的网络安全部门工作，工作时间与奖学金支持时间相同。该项目部分资金来自STEM教育项目中的种族平等（EHR种族平等）。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。

The growing nationwide shortage of cybersecurity professionals, especially in the federal government and defense critical infrastructure, has called for strategic measures to strengthen the nation’s cybersecurity capacity. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) and Tuskegee University (TU) are continuing their successful collaborative CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (SFS) program. This renewal program aims to produce additional well-prepared SFS graduates with integrated cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI) competencies and place them in the federal government to combat cybersecurity threats aggravated by rapidly advancing AI technologies.The overarching goal of this renewal program is to recruit and retain talented students from diverse backgrounds, prepare them for cybersecurity careers, successfully mentor them through a Master of Science (MS) degree program, and place them in cybersecurity positions compliant with the SFS job-placement requirements. The collaborative SFS renewal will incorporate a series of innovations such as multiple program paths across cybersecurity and data science, enhanced cybersecurity training with embedded AI components, an inclusive program path for outstanding scholars from non-computing backgrounds, recruitment with emphasis on aptitude for federal service, career mentoring focused on federal employment, preparation to work with diverse individuals, and teamwork building activities. These innovations, along with the complementary strengths, synergistic efforts, and accumulated experiences of UTC and TU, will ensure the renewal program achieves its three objectives: 1) Recruiting and retaining talented, capable, and diverse SFS scholars; 2) Achieving scholar success through supporting services; and 3) Increasing workforce readiness of SFS scholars. To enhance inclusiveness, the renewal program will support SFS cohorts in three program paths at both UTC and TU: one for 3-year BS+MS degrees, one for 2-year MS degrees, and one for 3-year MS degrees. 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.The project at TU is partially 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.