Argo Cyber Emerging Scholars (ACES): Developing a Cybersecurity Community of Practice

University Of West Florida, Pensacola FL

Investigators

Abstract

This project will establish a cybersecurity community of practice to grow and sustain a superior cybersecurity workforce through scholarships, professional and leadership development, high-impact learning practices, competency-based cybersecurity skills development and community partnerships. The University of West Florida (UWF) Argo Cyber Emerging Scholars (ACES) program will provide scholarships to four cohorts of undergraduate and graduate students from the Cybersecurity, Computer Science, and Information Technology academic programs over five years. This project will serve as a replicable and scalable model to develop a highly skilled cybersecurity workforce, and emphasize the recruitment, retention and advancement of broader populations into cyber, including veterans. UWF is ranked fifth in the nation as a military-friendly university. UWF provides leadership to advance cybersecurity education among colleges and universities in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina and Puerto Rico, and will leverage this role to scale and disseminate this project. UWF is designated as a Department of Homeland Security and National Security Agency Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) in Cyber Defense Education, and as the CAE Regional Resource Center for the Southeast United States. The project will leverage this Regional Resource Center role to disseminate the project, share best practice models and resources, and build a scalable community of practice. A multidisciplinary team-based approach will be used to mentor students and prepare them for government cybersecurity work roles. Students will participate in cybersecurity career readiness activities through high impact learning practices. These will include research, internships and competency-based skills development using the Florida Cyber Range, which will be mapped to the CAE Knowledge Units and NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework. The project team will recruit veterans and provide training opportunities to attract them to UWF cybersecurity programs and prepare them for government cybersecurity work roles. The project will also develop a pilot transfer pathway between a community college in Florida and UWF. UWF’s partnerships with federal, state, local and tribal government organizations will be leveraged and expanded to help students find cybersecurity career opportunities. 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.