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Experiential Learning in Cybersecurity Through the Commonwealth STEM Industry Internship Program

The Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC), a Coastal Virginia Commonwealth  Cyber Initiative (COVA CCI) team member, will continue the Commonwealth STEM Industry Internship Program (CSIIP), providing undergraduate students with experiential learning opportunities through paid internships.

Funded by the CCI Hub

Project Investigator

Principal Investigator (PI): Chris Carter, Old Dominion University Research Foundation / Virginia Space Grant Consortium

Rationale and background

This partnership serves the entire Commonwealth and supports CCI’s goal of cybersecurity workforce development.

VSGC established CSIIP to support education, workforce  development, and research by providing Virginia undergraduate students majoring in STEM with meaningful paid internships. 

The program is free to companies, schools, and students. CSIIP helps students explore career goals, apply classroom theory in the  workplace, and develop their skills while working on real-world projects mentored by industry  professionals. 

Since 2013, VSGC has placed more  than 1,150 students, and several  companies have hired their interns as full-time employees, including: Sentara; AScIS; Hampton Roads Sanitation District; RecAccess;  Dominion Resource Services; MI Technical Solutions; BASF; York County; and City of  Newport News.

Methodology

The project will leverage the investment in CSIIP and place students in internships in Virginia’s cybersecurity sector, while providing at least 15 subsidies (up to $5,000 each) to students to offset organizations’ costs. 

Targeted majors will include cyber-physical systems, cybersecurity, autonomous systems, data science, and others. 

VSGC will collaborate with CCI Node leaders, keep them apprised of regional placements, and maximize distribution of student subsidies across the four nodes.

Projected outcomes

Goals include:

  • Providing experiential opportunities and internships that provide students with  professional and job readiness skills needed to enter the cybersecurity workforce.
  • Cultivating and supporting additional partnerships with industry and higher education institutions in all CCI nodes to grow participation in cybersecurity careers.
  • Facilitating students’ connections to the cybersecurity industry. 
  • Supporting state and regional cybersecurity workforce needs. 
  • Supporting initiatives to attract and retain talent in the Commonwealth. 
  • Targeting recruitment of underrepresented minorities to include women and those in economically depressed areas.
  • Developing and implementing online resources to prepare students for the Linux+ certification exam. 

VSGC has also partnered with Virginia Cyber Range to produce asynchronous noncredit video sessions to prepare students for certification exams for the Security+ and Network+ certifications.