Experiential Learning Program
The Commonwealth Cyber Initiative funds experiential learning opportunities that give Virginia students hands-on cybersecurity training and direct exposure to future employers — through paid internships, mentorships, bootcamps and applied research projects. Programs are led by faculty across CCI's four regional nodes and reach students at public colleges and universities throughout the commonwealth.
Projects
In 2026, CCI awarded 11 experiential learning projects totaling about $1.1 million. Funded work included:
- ACCEL: AI-native Cyber Experiential Learning for Cyber Workforce Readiness Across Hampton Roads — Students learn to defend networks alongside AI — and alongside the employers who will hire them.
- Building the Healthcare Cybersecurity Workforce — When a hospital gets hacked, patient safety is on the line. These students train for it.
- Cannons & Cannoneers: Scaling Virginia's Cyber Talent Pipeline Through Student-Veteran Paired Engineering Teams — Students writing code on real defense programs, paired with veterans who have done the work.
- Cyber Ready: Experiential Workforce Development for Community College Learners — Paid, mentored cybersecurity internships launching community college students into industry careers.
- CyberBridge Fellows: A Multi-Institution Experiential Learning and Internship Program for Cybersecurity Workforce Development — Entry-level cyber jobs demand experience. Thirty students will graduate with it.
- Experiential Learning Program for AI-Driven Cybersecurity of RF and Edge-Enabled IoT Systems — Wireless attacks are easy to launch. This program trains defenders.
- From Signals to Action: Experiential Learning for AI-Enabled Critical Infrastructure Security — The AI flags an attack on the water supply. Now what? These students find out.
- Immersive Cyber Range for Workforce Readiness: AI-Driven XR Training Across Virginia's Critical Infrastructure — Put on a headset and train against adaptive cyberattacks.
- Preparing the Incoming Cybersecurity Workforce Through the Professional Readiness Experiential Program (PREP) — Twenty students, real clients, real deadlines — including U.S. Cyber Command.
- Securing AI-Driven Healthcare: Experiential Cyber Learning for Next-Gen Nursing Workforce — Future nurses need skills to recognize the cybersecurity and privacy risks of AI.
- Securing the Skies: A Drone-Centric Cybersecurity and AI Experiential Learning Program — Build a drone. Hack a drone. Defend a drone. Then race it.
Calls for Proposals
CCI periodically opens calls for proposals inviting faculty across its member institutions to apply for experiential learning funding. Proposals must benefit students at more than one CCI institution and connect them with real-world experience working alongside a potential future employer. Selected projects are funded through CCI and run for a defined period of performance, with recipients reporting on outcomes and student impact at the close of the award.
Interested in getting your company involved as an industry partner? Contact CCI Director of Outreach Eta Nahapetian at etanahapetian@vt.edu.