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Enhancing Experiential Learning via Technology Enabled Internships with Mentoring (TEIM): Phase 2 Implementation

Principal Investigator:

Jeff Pittges, professor, IMPACT Lab, Radford University

Co-principal investigators:

 

Enhancing Experiential Learning via Technology Enabled Internships with Mentoring (TEIM): Phase 2 Implementation

Employer surveys routinely show that students graduating from traditional programs often aren’t workforce ready due to a lack of critical thinking/soft skills and the inability to apply theoretical knowledge learned in the classroom. 

While internships have traditionally been used to mitigate these issues, their unstructured nature can:

  •  Create limited value for participating students and employers.
  • See a lack of employer participation, with reluctant professionals unwilling to add undefined responsibilities to busy schedules.
  • The Technology Enabled Internship with Mentoring (TEIM) program, aligned with the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI), is addressing this critical gap in Southwest Virginia.

TEIM clearly defines a student-driven learning approach that allows professionals to engage in a structured, high-impact manner. 

This technology-supported program emphasizes the acquisition of real-world knowledge and mentoring from cybersecurity professionals, while encouraging entrepreneurship through a collaborative professional challenge. 

To scale the value of TEIM, the project team proposes a statewide launch. 

CCI-supported objectives include:

  •  Complementing a high-quality traditional education.
  •  Enhancing workforce-ready skills via immersive industry experiences.
  •  Leveraging existing CCI investments to enhance/scale talent development.

With dedicated mentoring support from cybersecurity and technology membership organizations and successful past performance in multiple CCI nodes, the project team is well-positioned to deliver a successful statewide launch of the TEIM program.

This project, among nine experiential learning projects funded for fiscal year 2022-23, is a part of CCI's strategy to provide students with industry experience and enhance their skill sets to better prepare them to enter the cybersecurity workforce.