Cybersecurity Education in Critical Infrastructure Protection (CECIP) Program

CURRENTLY ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

Application Deadline: September 6, 2024

This Workforce Development project, which is funded by a sub-award from the CECIP program at the University of Memphis through a NCAE-C Program award (Award # H98230-21-1-0319; Subaward # A22-0041-S001-A01) provides FREE cybersecurity training for a workforce with the skills to defend and protect our critical infrastructures, primarily those in the industrial, energy,  and defense sectors. The project, a collaboration between the University of West Florida and the University of Memphis has the following objectives:

• To design and develop four training courses related to the protection of our critical infrastructures. These courses are
  • Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Compliance (September 23-October 4, 2024), 
  • Industrial Control Systems and Renewable Energy (ICS-RE) Security (October 7-25, 2024),
  • ICS-RE Threat Intelligence (October 28-November 8, 2024 ), and
  • Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Penetration Testing and Incident Response (November 11-22, 2024)
• To design and develop tabletop exercises and laboratory hands-on activities to support the four training courses
• To offer a certificate-based workforce development program consisting of the above four courses with verifiable digital credentials for the specific cybersecurity work roles in critical infrastructures with emphasis on veterans, transitioning military personnel, first responders, and other qualified adult learners
• To evaluate the effectiveness of the four courses
• To design and implement a two-day Faculty Development Workshop on ICS Security and Regulatory Compliance.
• To disseminate the training course materials for widespread adoption through publications and integration in existing academic courses.

Program Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for program consideration, applicants must meet the following requirements:

• U.S. citizen or Permanent Resident
• Be a veteran, transitioning military personnel, first responder, or military-connected personnel
• High school diploma or equivalent
• Some IT or cybersecurity experience

Preferred Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in IT or STEM area
• At least two years of IT or cybersecurity experience
• Security clearance (active or past)

Program Participation Requirements

All selected applicants must agree and comply with the following:

• Strong interest in cybersecurity field and career.
• Commit to participate in the program from September 23-November 22, 2024 (courses will not run for the entire duration but participants should be available during that time frame).
• Must have your own computer with a camera and mic and a high-speed Internet connection.
• Participate in all program courses, sessions, meetings, career development sessions, and career fairs. The program and courses will be offered 100% asynchronously online.
• Dedicate time towards self-study and complete all program and course requirements, including assigned readings, labs, assessments, and surveys each week.

Application Requirements

To be considered for the program, applicants MUST complete the application form using this URL link: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSewkpXQWWb75p6HBwMMoRVJwnlM-VxZ_551-K1VIgHg71wPVw/viewform

and submit ALL required documents via email by September 6, 2024. The application form also includes a brief survey regarding any IT and cybersecurity skills. The required documents should be submitted in PDF, JPG, or PNG format as attachments to an email message to Jesse Hamilton at jhamilton1@uwf.edu.

• Please use the following naming convention for the email subject: LastName FirstName Application (e.g., Smith Joe Application).
• For the required document, please name the file as FirstName-Last-Name.EXT (e.g., Joe-Smith-Resume.pdf).

Required Documents

• A document that will verify that you are a veteran, transitioning military personnel, first responder, or military-connected personnel.