VTCC Cyber & EW Enrichment Program

Abstract

Global competition is accelerating in nearly every operating domain due to the rapid pace of technological innovation, adoption, and exponential growth in available information. In this unpredictable global environment, it is vital that the Department of Defense (DoD) prevent further erosion of its military competitive advantage and maintain the ability to engage adversaries in contested security environments. The objective of the proposed effort is to grow the cyber andelectronic warfare skills taught to university students enrolled in ROTC programs and cultivate a world-class STEM workforce capable of maintaining U.S. DoD technological superiority. This proposal combines the Hume Center~s knowledge of cyber and EW threats and substantial cyber and EW-related infrastructure and resources available at Virginia Tech (VT), with the VT Corpsof Cadets~ (VTCC) broad student base to offer a program that can successfully address ONR~s goal of growing a trained workforce with the skills necessary to defend against emergent cyber and electronic warfare threats.The main components of this technical proposal include:1. Establish an experiential learning program that enhances the existing VTCC program structure with current, relevant cyber and EW content.2. Leverage existing DoD funded research efforts to provide undergraduate student participants with first-hand research experience.3. Disseminate information on existing cyber and EW-related programs and careers 4. Leverage assessment tools from existing VT experiential educational programs to evaluate program effectiveness.5. Develop a long-term sustainment plan to ensure program success after funding ends.The proposed program will: 1) provide a structured undergraduate research experience that stresses experiential learning through involvement in ongoing DoD funded research efforts, and 2) help to build a pipeline of STEM cognizant ROTC students with the skills needed to defend against emergent cyber and electronic warfare threats.

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Jan 09, 2020
Source ID
N000142012098

Entities

People

  • John Gilbert

Organizations

  • Office of Naval Research
  • United States Navy
  • Virginia Tech

Tags

Readers

  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Research Science/Academic Research
  • STEM Education

Technology Areas

  • Cyber
  • Microelectronics