Grants to Fund Training Cyber Talent Across All Levels of Government

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is investing nearly $15 million in funds designed to provide training for the next generation of cybersecurity talent across all levels of government.

The NSF has awarded grants to four academic institutions to fund the training, as part of the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (SFS) program, which extends full scholarships and stipends to students across 43 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Scholarship recipients at those four schools—George Mason University, Iowa State University, Ohio State University and Washington State University—“commit to contributing their expertise to federal, state, local or tribal government cybersecurity roles post-graduation,” according to an NSF statement.

At Washington State, a cohort of undergraduate and graduate students will receive training over a five-year span, receiving cybersecurity education, research and experiential learning opportunities, curricular innovation and career mentoring, according to NSF. The project will emphasize training in six interrelated themes: software supply chain, cyber-physical systems, artificial intelligence and security, cryptography and post-quantum security, hardware security and web security.

George Mason will employ an iterative approach to deliver an initiative consisting of five main components: recruitment; education, research and professional development; retention and placement; promotion and outreach; and program evaluation.

The project will support and integrate undergraduate research and graduate research in artificial intelligence and autonomous systems security, secure cyber-physical systems and critical infrastructure, next-generation wireless networks and cybersecurity for smart manufacturing. In addition, the initiative will promote student engagement with federal, state and local governments through internships, senior design projects and graduate research.

“This next cohort, focusing on cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, autonomous systems security, next-generation wireless, cybersecurity for smart manufacturing and more, is poised to make significant contributions to our national and economic security,” said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan, in a statement.

“Their work will contribute to the success of this great program and further strengthen the nation’s cybersecurity landscape.”