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Expanding Experiential Learning Through the Commonwealth STEM Industry Internship Program (CSIIP)

Based on employer demand for the Network+ certification, the Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC) will develop and implement an online video series to prepare students for the exam. The program will be a part of VSGC’s expansion of the Commonwealth STEM Industry Internship Program (CSIIP).

Funded by the CCI Hub

Project Investigators

Principal Investigator (PI): Chris Carter, Director, Virginia Space Grant Consortium

Co-PI: Michael D. Mann, Associate Professor, Cybersecurity Program Chair, Virginia Peninsula Community College

Rationale and Background

VSGC encourages continued use of CSIIP to provide undergraduate students with experiential learning opportunities through paid internships with business and industry in Virginia. It  will maximize distribution of 14 student subsidies (up to $5,000 each) across the four CCI nodes.

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

CSIIP is free to companies, schools, and students, and provides year-round internship placement services with maximum flexibility for full- or part-time experiences. 

Methodology

VSGC will produce 14 program sessions using test preparation questions. 

The asynchronous videos will be modeled after the Security+ resource developed under a previous CCI award.

A student audience will be used during live session taping using the ZOOM platform. Students will be offered the test preparation manual in appreciation for their role. 

Closed captioning and transcripts will be featured and the series will be offered through a link on the VSGC website. 

Student use of the video resources will be tracked through the registration process.

Projected Outcomes

VSGC anticipates completing the series in the fall semester of 2023 and announcing its availability early in spring semester 2024.

This project will serve CCI’s goal of closing Virginia’s cybersecurity workforce gap by helping place students in internships within that sector. It will:

  • Provide experiential opportunities and internships that give students essential job skills.
  • Cultivate meaningful relationships with industry and higher education member institutions.
  • Facilitate students’ connections to industry.
  • Target recruitment of underrepresented minorities, to include women and those in economically depressed areas.
  • Develop and implement online resources to prepare cybersecurity students for the Network+ exam.