Monday, July 17, 2017

Cal Poly Pomona Scholarship for Service Program Engagement

The Scholarship for Service (SFS) program is a partnership between the Department of Homeland Security and the NSF to grant 4-year colleges scholarship funds to encourage students to pursue cybersecurity as a career. Scholarship recipients agree to work for a qualifying federal or state government agency upon graduation as a means of returning the investment in their education with the additional benefit of strengthening critical government infrastructure. Cal Poly Pomona (CPP) received such a grant in 2015 and its program is headed by Professor Mohammad Husain.

Dr. Husain contacted CTSC to request an engagement to provide a hands-on experience in securing cyber infrastructure for the students in the CPP SFS program in the CPP PolySec Lab. After meeting to introduce one another and discuss engagement options, CTSC and CPP agreed to work together to conduct an on-site seminar at CPP for SFS students at CPP and other campuses that introduces the unique cybersecurity challenges of NSF cyberinfrastructure and provides practical training on cybersecurity topics in the areas of expertise of CTSC staff. CTSC staff will encourage the students to consider careers in trustworthy cyberinfrastructure. The seminar is scheduled to occur in mid-October.

We will announce more details about the seminar, and eligible students, as the information becomes available. To learn more about Cal Poly Pomona’s SFS program, see their site.