- Photo courtesy of www.nnsa.energy.gov
Twenty-five million dollars has been awarded by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for cybersecurity education. SCICU members Allen University, Benedict College, Claflin University, Morris College, and Voorhees College are among the HBCUs participating in the consortium. The grant will support the creation of a new, nation-wide cybersecurity consortium consisting of 13 Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory, and Charleston County School District.
The grants will help NNSA to institute a partnership with the next generation of future leaders and increase the number of minority students pursuing cyber security careers. The consortium will also help support NNSA in meeting its future cyber security demands. The grants will also help to attract minority graduates for employment within NNSA laboratories and plants.
Grant recipients will work to enhance cybersecurity-related research and scholarly activities; provide professional development for faculty; provide k-12 outreach and pipeline development; provide k-12 teaching training and education; host student interns in its labs; provide advice on k-12 STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – development and activities; and participate in building cybersecurity awareness student, faculty, parents and the community.
South Carolina schools will receive the bulk of the awards, with seven of its HBCUs and the Charleston County School District receiving some $16 million of the funds for cybersecurity education.
U. S. Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina sees the grant as an invaluable academic opportunity for students: “The ability to offer students at these schools the opportunity to diversify their education in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields is invaluable,” Clyburn said. “I have worked with the National Nuclear Security Administration to support math and science opportunities at HBCUs, and this program continues those efforts. I am looking forward to seeing students at these institutions excel in this field and become the leaders for the next generation.”