QUICK LINKS

WEBINARS

We’ve held two webinars to provide additional discussion on the program and answer questions. Access the webinar archives below to learn more and see if we answered your question.

March 15, 2022, kick-off webinar:

March 29 Q&A Webinar:

Contact Us

pathways@cyberflorida.org

The Cybersecurity and Information Technology Pathways (Cyber/IT Pathways) program is a joint endeavor of the Florida Department of Education and the Florida Center for Cybersecurity (Cyber Florida) to inspire and prepare more students to pursue fulfilling and lucrative careers in cybersecurity/information technology (IT) while helping address a national skills shortage in these areas.

We are delighted to announce the following projects have been selected for funding through the Cyber/IT Pathways Grant program:

Project HaHa (Hands-On Hardware Security Education) is proposed by a leading set of universities and colleges in Florida – Florida International University (FIU), University of Florida (UF), University of South Florida (USF), Broward College (BS), Nova Southeastern University (NSU), and University of Tampa (UT) – with the goal of broadening and diversifying hardware security education to meet the increasing cybersecurity needs across the State and the nation. With the rapid proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) and their growing importance in many critical domains – e.g.,finance and banking, communication, transportation, healthcare, supply chain management, energy and water delivery, and defense – hardware security has become increasingly important for such devices and systems. If the hardware is not trustworthy, no security solution at a higher level of abstraction can protect a system, thus emphasizing the need to train more workers in this critical area.

Current cybersecurity courses and training across Florida focus mainly on cryptography, access control mechanisms, software security, and network security, with very little attention paid to hardware security. Further, traditional approaches to cybersecurity training rely on lectures and demonstrations but lack hands-on activities that provide students with opportunities to explore cybersecurity concepts through experiential learning. Meanwhile, the few courses that do offer hands-on activities often rely on hardware that has not been designed specifically for hard security training, hardware that is expensive, or modules and assignments that have to be aggregated from different sources, thereby hindering the widespread implementation of effective hardware-focused security education. As such, it is critical that we develop an innovative, effective, and scalable solution to train a skilled and diverse workforce able to recognize potential hardware security challenges and vulnerabilities, detect attacks and threats, and develop effective countermeasures.

Project HaHa builds upon two successful NSF grants (1603480, 1623310) and six years of continuous implementation and refinement in college classrooms with strong results, e.g., 16 hands-on modules have been adopted by the CAD for Assurance Organization. Project HaHa is unique because it relies on the low-cost, but highly integrated HaHa hardware board, and it focuses specifically on hands-on learning of hardware security concepts. The proposed project focuses on four major activities: (1) approx. 50 instructors from various institutions will participate in professional development (PD) workshops for hardware security education; (2) these instructors will integrate HaHa modules into 11 existing and 5 new courses for hands-on hardware security training that will directly impact about 900 college students, 35% of whom are from underrepresented minorities; (3) these institutions will conduct broad outreach activities to promote hardware security in other Florida colleges and increase interest of cybersecurity in K-12 communities; and (4) this project will include a comprehensive evaluation to measure its success. The resource requirements of this collaborative proposal are primarily: support for personnel (instructors, technical, administrative, student training), expenses for equipment and supplies (HaHa boards and other educational materials), and costs for workshop, training, and outreach activities.

Project HaHa is designed for sustainability and scalability. (1) Trained instructors and newly established courses will be lasting assets for future students at each institution. (2) Since the HaHa board is very low-cost and integrated, it can easily be adopted at schools for both face-to-face and online training. (3) This project will be implemented in various institutional contexts (e.g., Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Tier 1 research institutions, two-year colleges, four-year universities) and course contexts (e.g., specialized cybersecurity courses, core required college courses, stand-alone courses). This experience will help us design plans for the best delivery of hardware security education in different situations across the State and nation. (4) Most of the participating institutions have NSA Center for Excellence designations and have close ties to the NSA and other federal agencies. The project team will leverage these existing relationships to sustain and scale the proposed effort beyond the grant period.

Applicants must provide a brief description of the proposed project/program. Limited to one page, this summary description should provide an overview of key details of the project information, including resource requirements and estimates, as specified in the remaining sections.

As an integral part of the Expanding Cybersecurity and Information Technology Pathways (ECITP) program, Miami Dade College (MDC) proposes to increase the number of trained and/or educated workers that are prepared to fill cybersecurity jobs in Florida. Within the Greater Miami area, MDC will prepare its surrounding community to become ‘job-ready’ candidates with the skills, knowledge, and abilities to meet the cybersecurity needs of for-profit and non-profit organizations.

MDC proposes to reduce the local talent gap and make the Greater Miami area a cybersecurity hub by (1) offering affordable, accessible, and flexible training options to traditional and non-traditional students; (2) creating new meaningful pathways from high school to college to employment; and (3) bringing a premiere cybersecurity event to Miami that attracts market-leading companies, government officials, world-renowned speakers, innovative startups, and investors worldwide.

With the support of the Expanding Cybersecurity and Information Technology Pathways program grant, MDC will accomplish the following key objectives:

  • Provide scholarships and support resources to students in cybersecurity degrees
  • Provide stipends to persons pursuing upskilling training
  • Provide paid internships to students completing cybersecurity degrees
  • Launch a cyber exploration event for middle school and high school students
  • Commit to bring Cybertech to Miami in 2023

Accomplishing the key objectives can provide short-term outcomes that strengthen the cybersecurity- talent pipeline into jobs in the Greater Miami area. Moreover, the – pipeline model proposed by MDC builds on an existing model that can be sustained and used to generate long-term positive outcomes that contribute to making the Greater Miami area a cybersecurity hub. While this cybersecurity pipeline model can position the Greater Miami area for long-term success, it can also be used as an exemplary model to be duplicated by surrounding Florida regions.

 Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) is well poised to implement a Cyber/IT Pathways program grant in partnership with committed Jacksonville area regional partners such as local employers, industry associations and non-profit organizations. FSCJ is one of three National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Two-Year Education (CAE2Y) designations in the state of Florida. Our track record of success illustrates the College’s enthusiasm, passion and commitment to increasing and preparing more students to pursue careers in cybersecurity and IT. 

FSCJ proposes the First Coast Cybersecurity & IT Pathways Project to help increase access to and expand the capacity of FSCJ’s existing, successful cybersecurity/IT education and training programs. The project will impact at least 20 college students, 40 incumbent workers and up to 24 high school students and teachers for a total of 84 impacted participants. Support from the Florida Cyber Pathways subgrant will allow FSCJ to accomplish the following at a requested funding level of $346,679: 

• Increasing college student enrollment in our Digital Forensics technical certificate program; 

• Increasing incumbent worker enrollment and access to our short-term, continuing workforce education CompTIA Security+ training program by providing scholarships for tuition, books and fees and funds for certification exam fees; 

• Offering access to computer-based, interactive test preparation software to help hone skills and knowledge prior to industry certification exam for CompTIA Security+; 

• Acquiring equipment, technology and supplies to enhance a shared Cybersecurity Teaching Lab space; 

• Working with local employers and industry associations like the JAX IT Council and Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) to align outreach strategies; and, 

• Promoting career pathways awareness and strengthening the cybersecurity/IT secondary school pipeline in the Northeast Florida region through community partnerships such as WiCyS, Infragard® Jacksonville Members Alliance and the Northeast Florida STEM Hub. 

The project will support learning opportunities for Northeast Florida students while advancing the role of Florida state and community colleges to offer enhanced cybersecurity programs and coursework to a broader population. 

Hillsborough Community College (HCC) seeks to implement CyberPaths, a project to expand offerings to attract, retain, and bring more trained cybersecurity technicians to the workforce. HCC, a majority-minority and federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), will contribute to the broader needs to fill cybersecurity workforce gaps, leveraging our existing Cybersecurity and Cybersecurity Operations AS degrees and several key strategies to support and attract cybersecurity students. HCC’s expertise with cybersecurity and cyber ops, particularly cyber ops, where HCC is the only sub-baccalaureate program in the state, will add state-approved curriculum frameworks and a sequence of courses aligned with the most relevant academic and technical skills. Likewise, curriculum, resources, and expertise will be shared to incubate shorter-term programs, pathways, and best practices in cybersecurity and cyber ops training. CyberPaths will provide four core elements: 1) The development of new pathways and shared frameworks, curriculum, and processes to best train students who choose shorter-term, stackable pathways with college credit certificates in cybersecurity and cyber ops; 2) Shared training practices to produce job-ready technicians with increased lab practice, including capture-the-flag type activities and industry certifications; 3) Diverse recruitment & outreach practices to launch new CCCs and expand the cybersecurity workforce with females and underrepresented minorities; and 4) The dissemination of best practices with regional and statewide stakeholders with engaging videos, resources, and webinars.

The project will seek funds from the Cyber and Information Technology Pathways Subgrant program in the amount of $160,778 to implement several high-impact activities necessary to accomplish the project’s objectives. Specifically, support from the program will assist with the costs associated with curriculum development for two CCCs (curriculum development, KSA cross-mapping, applications to the state, final approvals). Furthermore, resources from the grant will assist with upfront costs for instructional equipment needs to support CCC instruction with course-integrated labs including CTF-type activities, and secure virtual sandboxes. Resources will also support industry needs by providing certification boot camps that lead to credentialing (A+, N+, Security +). In addition, the Cyber/IT pathways grant program will help share practices to launch CCCs and diversify tech talent with personnel, and event costs (e.g., recruitment events, summer cybersecurity camp, and a diverse marketing campaign). The disaggregated budget estimates indicate that $50,597 will be needed for personnel costs to develop curriculum, enhance secure virtual sandboxes, hold recruitment events, camps, and dissemination activities; $24,420 on equipment needs for cyber ops and cybersecurity CCC instruction; $49,108 for materials and supplies; and $30,160 for marketing, dissemination, industry certification costs, and evaluation needs.

By the end of the project period, CyberPaths will produce two new College Credit Certificates that will fold into the AS Cybersecurity and Cyber Ops degrees, hold four diverse cybersecurity recruitment events, one summer cybersecurity camp, four industry certification boot camps, and provide several instructional practices to support both CCCs with course-integrated labs including CTF-type activities. The impact of CyberPaths easily aligns with the end goals of the Cyber/IT Pathways program, to increase the number of trained workers in Florida that are prepared to fill cybersecurity/information technology (IT) jobs. HCC offers promising learning opportunities with a sizable enrollment of diverse students and is a major contributor to the diversity of Tampa’s computer technology workforce. Similarly, HCC is well-situated to work with various stakeholders and educational partners with our extensive higher education network and substantial regional, state, and national reach to share resources and incubate robust practices to increase our workforce in cybersecurity.

 The Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering at the University of West Florida (UWF) seeks funds to establish a sustainable pathway for a future cybersecurity workforce through partnerships with industry, establishing an apprenticeship program, and creating articulation agreements with state colleges and high schools. To achieve this overarching goal, the proposed project takes a three-pronged approach: 

A.) Cybersecurity graduate certificate and apprenticeships – enhances the existing graduate cybersecurity executive certificate and establishes an apprenticeship program with it. 

B.) Cybersecurity undergraduate pathway for high schools – creating articulation with area high schools to transfer to UWF’s cybersecurity B.S. program with scholarship. 

C.) Articulation agreements with 2-year colleges to establish A.S. to B.S. to M.S. pathway in cybersecurity – creating articulation and admitting students from state and community colleges for A.S. to B.S. to M.S. programs. 

The proposed project will build upon Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering’s established credentials and reputation in delivering undergraduate and graduate education in north-west Florida and its continued partnership with area employers. The project will build a sustainable and scalable pathway from high schools and state colleges to the undergraduate and graduate degree programs in cybersecurity and will contribute significantly towards the growth of the programs and producing a skilled workforce. 

Each of the three project components will have measurable goals and outcomes and will be assessed using formative and summative evaluation plans. The details of the project goals, outcomes, plan, timeline, and evaluation will be discussed in the following sections. 

 Within the Information Technology (IT) industry, there is a fast growing demand for professionals with specialized skills in cloud computing. This is especially true for the world of Cybersecurity. As more and more companies and organizations adopt cloud services for everything from email and customer databases to payroll and security, the concern for increased risk and vulnerability also grows. According to a report by Coalfire and Cybersecurity Insiders, an overwhelming majority of cybersecurity professionals (93%) say they are at least moderately concerned about public cloud security. Lack of qualified staff to assess risk and vulnerability of cloud services within an organization is also a concern. 

St. Petersburg College (SPC) is seeking funding from the Florida Center for Cybersecurity, through the Expanding Cybersecurity and Information Technology Pathways grant from the Florida Department of Education, to address the need for training and education in cloud computing. SPC’s Cloud Computing Initiative will help increase the number of well trained and/or educated workers in Florida that have current, relevant skills needed for today’s information technology (IT) and cybersecurity workforce, in the state and the Nation. 

SPC’s Cloud Computing Initiative will focus on expanding existing credit and non-credit IT programs by developing new cloud computing courses and programs, which will serve as a springboard for developing a new statewide framework for an Associate of Science (A.S.) degree in Cloud Computing. This framework will lay the foundation for other Florida College Institutions to model and replicate to support the evolving needs of IT business and industry throughout the state. 

The project has three objectives: to enhance existing degree pathways by establishing cloud computing subplans and a certificate program; to work with the Florida Department of Education and other partners to develop the statewide framework for an A.S. degree in Cloud Computing; and, to expand short-term training options to include Amazon Web Services and other relevant cloud computing courses that lead to industry certifications. 

This initiative will include extensive outreach and marketing for recruitment and enrollment in newly developed courses and programs, targeting unemployed and underemployed individuals seeking to begin a career in IT, as well as those working in the industry who need to re-skill or upskill to advance in their careers. The project is anticipated to directly serve approximately 55 students in new programs and courses within the one-year grant period. 

Overall, these enhancements to existing curriculum will provide more options for students entering IT credit and non-credit pathways and increase the number of highly skilled candidates for high demand IT jobs. SPC’s Cloud Computing Initiative will not only strengthen the College’s IT programs and increase its capacity to provide critical IT education and training that responds directly to industry needs, but also provide a model for similar programs across the state. 

There is a dire nationwide need to develop cybersecurity awareness programs at all levels of the society and workforce, ranging from students in diverse college degree programs to industry professionals who are involved in handling and managing sensitive data or make business or administrative decisions related to cybersecurity. This need is now expanded to include K-12 students with the goal of inspiring and informing future cyber workforce, while cultivating foundational awareness, protecting the students on the cyberspace, developing cybersecurity career pathways, and leveling the playing field for the minoritized (e.g., Hispanic, African American, Female) students of South Florida. In particular, since high school is the critical timeframe for the students to make an initial decision for their career pathways, it is important to expose them to various opportunities in the emerging areas of cybersecurity to pique their attention. The primary challenges in this endeavor are developing a curriculum and associated learning activities that are age-appropriate in terms of technical aspects and making them appealing or enjoyable to high-school students, while training and empowering their teachers to deliver the material effectively. To this end, this project aims to pursue a game-based approach building on one of the most popular games amongst teenagers, mainly Minecraft. Owned by Microsoft, Minecraft has been widely popular with a daily use of almost 3 million users.

The proposal brings together experts in cybersecurity and K-12 teacher training to deliver novel, modular, Minecraft-based, cybersecurity curricula to high school teachers from South Florida, home to three large school districts (Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach) that collectively train one of the nation’s largest Hispanic-majority K-12 student populations. The project team includes Profs. Kemal Akkaya and Selcuk Uluagac, both from Cybersecurity@FIU, FIU’s Emerging Preeminent cybersecurity research and education program, and Prof. Giri Narasimhan, the Director of the Academy for Computer Science (CS) Education at FIU, an outreach entity that has provided professional development training for over 400 K-12 South Florida teachers to teach computing in their schools. By leveraging this existing training infrastructure through the Academy for CS Education, the project will focus on the following three specific aims:

Aim 1 (Curriculum): Develop a 5-module training program in cybersecurity with foundational concepts delivered through learning activities based on the popular game, Minecraft. The curriculum will focus on critical cybersecurity concepts that may lead to various career pathways while highlighting the need for understanding economic, political, and ethical aspects of cybersecurity and privacy.

Aim 2 (Training the Trainer): Deliver the designed cybersecurity modules and learning activities as a 35-hour, 5-day workshop during the Summer. This will be followed by six 5-hour sessions during the subsequent academic year to discuss practical implementation issues and to help teachers optimally impart the material to their own students. The teachers will be recruited from the three South Florida school districts. The training will be delivered by two complementing facilitators – a Cybersecurity expert and an expert in pedagogy from the Academy for CS Education.

Aim 3 (Assessment): The program success will be assessed by a professional evaluator and the materials/workshops will be fine-tuned so that the material can be easily used by teachers across the state and the nation. A project website will be built, and the results of the project will be disseminated via appropriate educational and other research venues, conferences, workshops, and journal articles. The modules will also be made available at Minecraft Educational Edition website.

 The University of West Florida Center for Cybersecurity proposes to launch the CyberSkills2Work Florida Program in response to the Cyber Florida – Cybersecurity and Information Technology Pathways Program. The proposed program will: (1) establish a scalable and sustainable Florida certificate-based workforce development program to rapidly expand the number of qualified IT and cybersecurity job candidates; (2) deliver a competency-focused, skills-based training program in partnership with public and private sector employers to prepare and place learners in IT and cybersecurity work roles across Florida; (3) align curricula with Florida employer requirements, industry certifications, and nationally recognized frameworks; (4) develop partnerships with CareerSource Florida branches to provide participants with job search skills and access to employment that could be scaled statewide; and (5) develop a Florida Cybersecurity Employers Network to connect program graduates with employers and job opportunities across the state and nation, and also engage employers to provide input on the program and curricula with the goal of enhancing employability. 

CyberSkills2Work Florida will leverage best-practice curricula, models, and resources that have been developed and have demonstrated success and impact via the National Cybersecurity Workforce Development Program funded by the NSA National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity Program. The proposed program will leverage this successful framework to establish a scalable workforce program that offers cutting-edge training and upskilling specific to Florida IT and cybersecurity job needs. 

The program focuses on entry-level IT and cybersecurity work roles as defined by the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Cybersecurity Workforce Framework. Participants only need a high school diploma or equivalent to be eligible. The program will focus on individuals who could reskill or upskill from other careers. Additional emphasis will be given to recruiting members of underrepresented or underserved populations, including women, transitioning military, veterans, and underrepresented minorities, to simultaneously address workforce diversity and more rapidly expand the talent pool. Participants will take four courses in a 30-week timeframe and prepare for three CompTIA industry certifications which are widely recognized as validation of entry-level IT and cybersecurity skills – A+, Network+, and Security+. The cohort will also receive additional hands-on training in essential cybersecurity defenses and participate in Cyber Range exercises to enhance their competencies and skills. 

The program delivers results to help Cyber Florida achieve student, program, and workforce outcomes of the Cybersecurity and IT Pathways Program. The program will increase the number of industry-certified and well-qualified individuals who are ready to work or ready to enroll in a college-level program where certifications can award degree credit. In addition, the program will develop a scalable and flexible best-practice model for workforce development which can be replicated by Florida College System and Florida State University System institutions and tailored to regional employment needs across the State. It also creates sharable best practices, curricula, models, and resources to support existing programs or start new ones. Finally, the proposed program establishes a Florida-centric Cybersecurity Employers Network to connect talent to internships, apprenticeship, and jobs with public and private sector organizations which already operate in Florida. The employment-centric, competency-based focus also creates an attractive talent pool for use in Economic Development efforts to further improve our state’s long term economic prosperity. 

 The Palm Beach Collaborative Cyber Pathway Project is a cooperative endeavor of Palm Beach State College and the School District of Palm Beach County (PBSC and SDPBC). Palm Beach State College is situated at the center of, and serves as an incubator for, a booming STEM industry sector. PBSC serves a student body of more than 49,000 students annually, offering college certificates, career pathways, corporate and continuing education, and 130 programs of study leading to associate degrees and a limited number of high-need baccalaureate degrees, as allowed by the Florida legislature. PBSC is a USDE-designated Hispanic Serving Institution. 

The School District of Palm Beach County (District) spans the entire county, including urban, suburban, and rural areas and is the 11th largest public school district in the nation. The District serves almost 175,000 students in nearly 200 schools. Students represent 197 different countries of birth and 146 languages spoken, making SDPBC a majority-minority district. In contrast to the wealthy image often associated with Palm Beach, 51% of the district’s high school students received free and reduced lunch due to low income status. 

The goal of this one-year project is to increase the number of workers that are prepared to fill cybersecurity/information technology jobs by creating a model that is suitable for expansion, adoption, and sustainability/scalability in the state. To achieve this, the project focuses on enhancements to existing programs in the K-20 pipeline in Palm Beach County. The partners in this project use their previous collaboration on similar projects as a foundation for the development of a model that is easily replicated by K-12/higher ed partners in any location. 

The project has four objectives: 

OBJECTIVE 1. Increase the number of students enrolled in SDPBC and PBSC Cyber/IT pathway programs by 5% in August 2023 as compared to August 2022; 

OBJECTIVE 2. Increase the number of industry certifications and degrees earned by SDPBC and PBSC students programs by 5% in August 2023 as compared to August 2022; 

OBJECTIVE 3. Create articulated curriculum that aligns instruction at SDPBC with course objectives at PBSC programs by August 2023; and 

OBJECTIVE 4. Increase student job readiness through participation in experiential learning programs by at least 95% or targeted students by August 2023. 

Attainment of these objectives is facilitated though the combined effort of the schools and their robust partnerships with private sector entities, public sector institutions, and non-profit organizations. Together, these partners provide an environment in which students believe that they belong in the cyber field and in which they experience mock and actual scenario and workplace-based experiences that reflect the actual work of practicing professionals. Formative evaluations of progress are made at least quarterly, and a project end evaluation report is submitted to USF. 

Alignment of curricula between the college and the District is a primary activity of the project. Part of this process is the upskilling of SDPBC teachers, many of whom are teaching out-of-field or have been removed from the industry for prolonged periods. In this manner, both teachers and students are assured that they are working through current industry challenges using current industry tools. 

Funding requested ($1,030,612) is adequate to secure all resources essential to the project and includes staffing, hardware and software upgrades; curriculum alignment and development; Pathway educational materials for grade 4 students to BAS recipients; field experiences for students, including internships; professional development for instructors, and industry certifications for instructors and students. 

Through this initiative, Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) will reinforce and expand educational pathways to increase the quantity and readiness of students prepared to fill cybersecurity and information technology (IT) jobs in the immediate and foreseeable future. This will be done in two parts: a middle school program that will broaden an existing initiative to certify teachers and students in a FLDOE CAPE funded cybersecurity industry certification, and a high school program that will strengthen and expand rigorous and relevant cybersecurity/IT courses. In short, HCPS will build on a strong foundation to forge a pipeline that begins in middle school and ends with job-ready graduates prepared to meet the growing challenges and opportunities in cybersecurity/IT. All facets of this program will drive student learning in cybersecurity/IT pathways through the application of specific, attainable objectives, and generate scalable models for substantial and sustainable growth for teachers, learners, and school districts.

The middle school initiative (part 1) will build on a successful push to increase the number of students earning industry certification in ICT Cybersecurity Essentials. This will enhance the general understanding of basic principles of cybersecurity, increase and diversify the number of students pursuing high school IT courses, and generate a sustainable funding source. This grant will allow HCPS to continue the expansion of foundational cybersecurity knowledge and grow the pipeline of prepared and eager learners matriculating to high school by: hiring district instructional personnel to effectively meet the labor needs of supporting 90 schools with grades 6 – 8, providing computers to address the technology deficit in diverse communities, supplying targeted professional development and industry certification testing vouchers, and supporting teachers with professional learning and compensation for additional requirements beyond already overflowing work hours.

The high school initiative (part 2) will reinforce cybersecurity/IT pathways, bolster cybersecurity/IT instruction by addressing critical instructional needs, build teacher capacity, support teachers with earning with updated industry certification, and expand rigorous and relevant cybersecurity courses into additional schools and communities. This grant will allow HCPS to recruit and train teachers with a one-year program of study (CyberLaunch) by: partnering with a cybersecurity consulting firm for critical subject area expertise and community connections, providing computers to seed expanded cybersecurity courses, building a program of workforce experiences for students, and supporting teachers with professional learning, industry mentoring, community connections, and compensation for additional requirements.

Expense Overview:

Considering the importance of cybersecurity education, this project aims to leverage a hybrid-honeynet platform to develop a cybersecurity curriculum. This project will be carried out through three closely related tasks. The first task focuses on the development of a hybrid honeynet to capture malicious Internet traffic. Utilizing the honeynet platform, in the second task, this project focuses on curriculum development to improve cybersecurity education at UNF. To this end, a new course “Cyber Threat Intelligence” will be developed and presented to deliver some of the useful cybersecurity concepts with hands-on activities. Finally, in the third task, a workshop will be organized to share the findings of the project with the community. In this workshop, the PI team will proactively contact community colleges in Jacksonville and nearby areas to help them in the development of a cybersecurity curriculum.

The outcome of the project is used for cybersecurity curriculum development. Currently, UNF has limited programs on cybersecurity. Thus, this project will significantly help the university develop courses in the cybersecurity area. This project leverages the honeynet platform to develop a new course titled “Cyber Threat Intelligence”. This platform exposes students to a variety of cybersecurity-related topics, technologies, and problems of interest. This will enhance their marketability at graduation and has the potential to inspire them to pursue graduate studies. The results of this project will be used for teaching purposes including training students about the current network attacks, network vulnerabilities, attackers’ techniques, botnets, honeypot, ransomware, threat intelligence, etc. Moreover, in this project, students will obtain hands-on experience by working with different technologies such as firewall, virtualization, log management, threat intelligence, database management system, data visualization, and reverse-engineering. Besides, students gain a broad knowledge of current cyber-attack trends for various network services.

The PI team is strongly committed to engaging minority students in the project activities. The PI team will work with the School’s Diversity and Inclusion (Dive-In) committee to contact such students and encourage them to apply for positions available in this project. The result has a long-term benefit as the collected data and the honeypot platform can be used for future research and teaching goals.

The PI plans to share the result of this project and the attack dataset collected in the honeynet with academic and industry communities. Moreover, PI team will organize a half-day workshop at UNF to discuss and share the results of this project with the community. The workshop’s banner will be posted in community colleges located in Jacksonville and nearby areas. In this event, the PI will proactively reach out to the instructors of community colleges to help them develop the cybersecurity curriculum.

 Public and nonprofit agencies are at the forefront of educational programs and service delivery for students. City and county governments often partner with school districts to extend their programmatic services. Educational nonprofits provide after school programs and other activities. As the experiences of public and nonprofit organizations in South Florida have shown over the last five years (and especially during the Covid-19 pandemic), most of these programs are provided through digital/online platforms, even if partially. Cybersecurity is a critical issue for local governments and school districts across these organizations as such online offerings have increased. These agencies have been vulnerable to cybersecurity, as evidenced by the recent increase in ransomware attacks. Local government agencies, school districts, and nonprofits require a significant degree of preparation and their current professionals require upskilling to be prepared for cyber-delivery of educational services. 

It is in the above context that the main goal of this project is to provide a pathway for cybersecurity to public and nonprofit agencies. It addresses the cybersecurity education and upskilling of organizational leaders and professionals who are key to online program delivery in these organizations. Hence, there are three principal objectives of the proposal: 1) upskilling for leaders and professionals in public organizations, including special districts; 2) upskilling of professionals (through training the trainers) in educational nonprofits which are bolstering their offerings in Cyber and IT to all students in their curriculums to disadvantaged students through after-care programs; and 3) develop cybersecurity focused competency to existing and future students in bachelor’s and master’s programs in public administration, public policy, and nonprofit programs, who usually take on public and nonprofit jobs. 

We will achieve the project goals through special online trainings/webinars and in-person workshops. The online trainings will compose of an expansion of a Micro-Credential (i.e., badge) currently undertaken by the project team members. A badge for fundamental cybersecurity training has been developed as a part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project called “CyberTraining: Implementation: Medium: Advanced Cyber Infrastructure Training in Policy Informatics” (Award No. 1924154). The badge will be expanded to managerial and technical trainings that will bolster their cybersecurity efforts and support within the organizations. It will be made sustainable beyond the grant period by institutionalizing them as self-supporting fee based program. 

The project team is an experienced and interdisciplinary one, which has already been working together on the NSF sponsored project to develop the cyberinfrastructure training relating to cybersecurity and data science. The proposed project will expand on the cybersecurity aspects of the training oriented toward public and nonprofit leaders and professionals. In particular, the proposed project will expand on the Florida International University’s Micro-credential called “Cyberinfrastructure Security for the Public Sector” that is developed as a part of the NSF cyberinfrastructure project. Moreover, the project team has also been working with the National Initiative for Cyber-Security Education (NICE) undertaken by the National institute of Science and Technology (NIST) to expand the cybersecurity curriculum for public service professionals. 

The PI of the team is Prof. Sukumar Ganapati, and the co-PIs of the team will include Profs. Shaoming Cheng, Howard Frank, Kemal Akkaya, and Selcuk Uluagac. The PI and the first two Co-PIs are from the Department of Public Policy and Administration; the last two are from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Florida International University (FIU). The project will be conducted over the period of one year (July 2022 to August 2023). 

 The Computer Science and Information Technology AS program at State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota (SCF) and the SCF IT/Coding Academy (Coding Academy) offer technology education and training via Associate in Science degree programs, workforce certificates, industry certifications, and immersive skills-based bootcamps for credit, non-credit and CTE secondary students. Additionally, the Coding Academy offers STEM enrichment camps for elementary, middle, and high school students. With the Cyber/IT Pathways grant, SCF will enhance and expand existing efforts in academic and workforce development departments to promote and support the cybersecurity and information technology workforce through outreach, education, training, and marketing. 

State College of Florida Cyber/IT Pathway: Reach! Teach! Train! Repeat! seeks $294,480 from Cyber Florida: The Florida Center for Cybersecurity. 

  • • Reach!: influence cybersecurity perceptions, awareness, knowledge, and confidence among 2nd -11th grade students during spring and summer enrichment camps using existing cybersecurity curriculum and emerging technologies and create ambassadors among K-12 educators 
  • • Teach!: improve cybersecurity and information technology industry certification exam pass rates among CTE (Career and Technical Education) secondary and post-secondary students by encouraging industry certification testing and attendance in certification review sessions 
  • • Train!: prepare more job seekers to gain NIST/NICE skills for careers in cybersecurity by providing instructional support and mentoring, while also removing financial barriers into the SCF AS Degree program and the SCF IT/Coding Academy programs 
  • • Repeat!: create marketing campaigns highlighting student outcomes and industry partnerships for increased awareness and recruitment of Cyber/IT opportunities at SCF with targeted marketing toward underrepresented groups 

Reach! Teach! Train! Repeat! student outcomes will be evaluated through: 

  • • Pre- and post-camp surveys for 2nd – 11th graders to evaluate their interest, engagement, knowledge, and awareness of cybersecurity and information technology majors and careers 
  • • Student, instructor, mentor, and industry surveys for feedback about the program 
  • • Comparisons of exam pass rates each semester for secondary and post-secondary students attending industry certification review sessions versus those students who do not attend 
  • • Comparisons of enrollment numbers, course completers, and demographics each semester 

Reach! Teach! Train! Repeat! anticipated student outcomes are as follows: 

  • • Positively influence 80% of 2nd – 11th graders to consider majors and careers in Cyber/IT 
  • • Increase student enrollment in SCF Cyber/IT Pathway by at least 30% 
  • • Increase the number of students taking industry certifications by 40% 
  • • Increase student industry certification exam passage rates by 30% 

SCF Cyber/IT Pathway: Reach! Teach! Train! Repeat! boldly educates and supports the Cyber/IT workforce locally with best practices that can be implemented statewide.

Cybersecurity is one of the fastest growing and lucrative fields in the United States. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is expecting a 33% growth in the next decade, which is “much faster than average”. With a median pay in six figures, students can get high-paying jobs right out of high school.

Our project would grow a new Digital Information Technology (DIT) class into a full cybersecurity program in St. Lucie Public Schools, specifically at Lincoln Park Academy (LPA). We would be one of the only fifteen cybersecurity academies in the state. There are currently none on the Treasure Coast, where St. Lucie County is located. At Lincoln Park Academy, we are in the rare situation of having seven grades on one campus, ranging from 6th-12th grade. This will allow LPA to be the only school to be able to form a comprehensive program for middle and high school students on campus.

We were ambitious in our first-year program at Lincoln Park Academy. Mr. Alan Mathison, a 16-year veteran LPA instructor was tasked to start the new Digital Information Technology (DIT) class in February 2020. DIT can take two tracks: an office skills track, and a computer technology track.

With a degree in Computer Science, Mr. Mathison chose the computer technology track. He settled on the CompTIA platform of certifications, starting with their IT Fundamentals (ITF+) certification as an entry-level multiple-choice certification aimed toward high school students interested in IT. He worked over the summer to build a course through Canvas to supplement his instruction. The ITF+ was created as a gateway certification for students considering a job in IT.

SLPS has already identified the next certification for the second-year course, the CompTIA A+, which is a combination of hands-on assignments and multiple-choice questions. CompTIA A+ is the gold standard for getting a job in Information Technology. It is recommended for help desk, field service, and system technician. Given the third certification in CompTIA’s series is Intro to Cybersecurity, this would fit perfectly into our planned structure.

To build the program for both upperclassmen, and down for middle schoolers, SLPS is seeking funding for our curriculum and resources for grades 6-8 and requesting to add a full second-year high school program, with plans on becoming self-sufficient when adding third and fourth-year courses into the future.

For the middle school, who will work closely with Mr. Mathison, SLPS looks to employ a combination of SAE, Sphero, Pitsco, and WoZEd curriculum with certifications available on the middle school level. Our middle school classes are a semester long, with most of our students taking a computer class. For high school students, SLPS is seeking to purchase CompTIA’s curriculum for A+. CompTIA’s virtualization and simulations will allow us to overcome some of our obstacles that we have faced. To continue the pathway for students, SLPS is requesting funding for scholarships for seniors to continue in cybersecurity at the college level.

Students will move into Indian River State College, whose Bachelor of Science Degree in Information Technology and Cybersecurity was recognized as a 2021 Top 10 Best Online Degrees in Info Tech by ZDNet. Currently, no schools in the area teach high school cybersecurity, and we intend to fill that void.

SLPS aima to turn Lincoln Park Academy into the premier Cybersecurity program on the Treasure Coast and use of these grants will help us reach this goal.

The development of a Cyber Lab at Florida Gateway College (FGC) is sought for the purpose of enhancing the capabilities of FGC in an effort to respond to the rapidly growing need of both private sector and government employers to address the growing cybersecurity threat. The goal of this effort will focus on the development of infrastructure, both onsite and virtual, to enhance the college’s training, recruiting, and retention capabilities. These advancements in infrastructure will allow for the education of highly-skilled and workforce-ready cybersecurity and networking technicians.

There is a national, statewide, and local shortage in qualified cyber experts, a problem further hampered by the lack of training and work-based learning opportunities currently available. The result is a workforce need which is lacking available solutions; therefore, FGC is striving to address this deficiency by working to increase both the quantity and quality of future cybersecurity professionals entering the workforce. To meet such an objective, the college will need to attract talented students into the Computer Science fields, and then provide them with both education and experiences necessary to be successful as they move into the workforce.

Contingent upon funding, FGC would be able to obtain NETLAB’s services, which empowers students to gain access to hands-on training material while bridging the gap between the classroom and the working environment. It would also allow FGC to integrate NETLAB and its numerous partners, including Cisco, Linux Professional Institute, the Red Hat Academy, VM Ware, and Palo Alto Networks, in its Computer Science curriculum and course offerings, teaching a vast array of networking- and cybersecurity-related content.

The second component of this project would include the construction of an onsite Cyber Lab with the capacities to simulate cyber-warfare scenarios. By advancing programmatic material and redesigning a current computer classroom into the Cyber Lab, FGC would modernize its curriculum and training efforts, providing students with best practices and relevant academic experience. This onsite Cyber Lab and virtual classroom with NETLAB access would allow FGC’s educators to focus on creating an authentic classroom environment reflective of the real world by leveraging the predesigned scenarios. At the same time, such growth would provide the means to locally recruit future networking and cybersecurity professionals. Finally, obtaining NETLAB services enlarges FGC’s capabilities to develop career pathways for secondary students, broadening the potential pool of the future Computer Science workforce.

The biggest challenge facing enterprises and organizations in protecting their assets from the monotonically increasing cybersecurity threats is the shortage of qualified and talented cybersecurity workforce. The unfilled and rapidly growing demand for cybersecurity jobs in the job market is a vital indicator of the effect of this challenge. According to Cybersecurity Workforce Demand facts that NIST published [1], “On average, 50% of the hiring managers surveyed generally do not believe their applicants are qualified, and 16% are unable or uncomfortable making the determination.” Also, according to the same source, the number of cybersecurity job openings is 597,767 positions.

This proposal aims to address this challenge by enhancing the qualifications and skills of the graduates of the Cybersecurity Engineering program and the Information Assurance and Cybersecurity concentration at Florida Polytechnic University and making them hirable on the first day of graduation.

To achieve the desired outcome of the proposal, we set the following objectives:

• Provide hands-on training to cybersecurity faculty and students.

• Enhance the current curriculum of the cybersecurity engineering and computer science

programs.

• Prepare students for industry certification and examinations.

• Promote student enrollment in the cybersecurity engineering and computer science program.

The objectives will be reached through the following pathways:

• Cybersecurity faculty training with professional industry certificates

• Establish a cybersecurity lab with modern cybersecurity equipment and software.

• Encourage quality students to enroll in cybersecurity programs by subsidizing tuition and fees

for high-achieving students.

• Encourage and support on-campus extra-curricular cybersecurity activities.

• Hire a qualified instructor to support training and extra-curricular cybersecurity activities.

• Prepare for a yearly summer camp for high-school teachers and students.

A proposal by USF Computer Science and Engineering department

  • Sriram Chellappan, Professor, Program Coordinator for Cybersecurity
  • Ken Christensen, Professor, Associate Chair for UG Affairs
  • Marbin Pazos-Revilla, Assistant Professor of Instruction, Director of CSE Infrastructure
  • Bernard Batson, Associate Dean for Diversity, College of Engineering
  • sudeep Sarkar, Distinguished University Professor, and Chair

in partnership with

  • Bayshore High School (contact: Charles “Chuck” Routhier – routhiec@manateeschools.net)
  • Countryside High School (contact: Jason Felt – feltj@pcsb.org)
  • East Lake High School (contact: Erica Lightfoot – lightfoote@pcsb.org)
  • Lakewood High School (contact: Ron Schnell – schnellr@pcsb.org)
  • Pinellas Technical College-Clearwater (contacts: Steven Plummer – plummers@pcsb.org and
  • Jakub Prokop – prokopj@pcsb.org)

A. Summary

This project will help create a qualified Cyber/IT workforce that will not only be armed with academic technical skills, but also will be versed with emerging technologies, have improved industry awareness, developed expertise in state-of-the-art industry tools and needs, be certified professionally, and have the experience of engaging in established competitions.

USF CSE graduates about 300 students each year with degrees in cybersecurity (CyS), computer science (CS), computer engineering (CpE), and information technology (IT). Most graduates (roughly 70%) have careers in Florida. In this project, we aim towards (i) increasing capacity of our teaching laboratories, in coordination with local Cyber/IT industry (ii) providing student learning opportunities via participating in cybersecurity-related competitions, (iii) building hands-on courses for students to get experiences with current industry tools and software, (iv) enhancing our capstone design course (i.e., senior project) for Cybersecurity/IT with real industry projects and (iv) training students for certifications and (v) introducing students to emerging cybersecurity topics. These efforts will meet grant goals of getting our students “become ‘job-ready’ candidates with the skills to meet the cybersecurity/IT employment needs of businesses, public agencies, and non-profit organizations across the state and the Nation”.

We will simultaneously build partnerships to enhance cybersecurity programs at four Tampa Bay area high schools and one technical college to strengthen both the preparation of career-ready graduates and the Cyber/IT pipeline from K-12 to college. Our partnership will include (i) hardware and equipment support to local high schools and technical college, and (ii) enrichment of high-school curricula with activities led by USF faculty, graduate students, industry practitioners to motivate high-schoolers to pursue Cyber/IT programs in college, and careers. These activities also serve to meet the grant goals.

We will judge project success via formative and summative metrics for a) project progress; b) curricular innovations; c) increased number of students completing Cyber/IT courses; d) increased participation of students in cybersecurity competitions; c) increased number of students completing certifications; d) increased number of students completing cybersecurity programs in high schools and technical college; and (e) number of students educated in Cyber/IT skills, ready for the workforce.

The Applied Cybersecurity Fundamentals Continuing Education Course is a continuing education program of Cape Coral Technical College. The program goal is to inspire and prepare more students to pursue fulfilling and lucrative careers in cybersecurity and information technology (IT), while helping address a national skills shortage in these areas. The program will use the Florida Department of Education Post- Secondary Curriculum Framework for Applied Cybersecurity as the blueprint for course content, choosing key content components of the traditional 750-hour course content to fit into an abbreviated cybersecurity continuing education program encompassing two 120-hour semesters. The proposed program provides non-credit training that includes preparation for industry certifications.

This applied cybersecurity course is designed to enhance the existing Network Support Services and Network Systems Administration programs offered at Cape Coral Technical College by providing sixteen additional weeks of intensive cybersecurity training over the course of two semesters. It is projected that this additional training will enhance student hireability and increase initial starting salaries.

The current Network Support Services and Network Systems Administration programs exist for students who have no prior training and wish to pursue a career in Information Technology (IT). In addition to the requirements to meet State competency objectives for their respective certification programs, the programs also prepare students to sit for and pass third party certification exams. Specifically, students are expected to earn certifications from CompTIA (A+, Network+, Server+, Security+) and Cisco (CCNA), with the opportunity to earn Linux+ and / or RedHat certifications. However, there is not enough time in the programs to specifically cover cybersecurity in depth. This proposed continuing education program would only be available to students who have completed all requirements for their respective State certification program and have earned at least CompTIA A+, Network+, & Security+ certifications in alignment with CompTIA’s own recommendations.

Resource Requirements & Estimates

The specific proposal would be to use funds to cover the material cost (books, study materials, exam vouchers, and tuition), instructor costs for an additional 240 hours instructional time to give student the opportunity to earn two additional CompTIA certifications: Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) & penetration testing (PenTest+), and appropriate instructor planning time to execute course objectives. Funds would also cover costs associated with the Principal Investigator role as liaison, data collection agent, and creation of final report; along with costs of time associated with the Career Specialist assisting with student resumes, practice interviews, and employment opportunities. This pilot extension is based on an initial group of 24 students. (12 per semester). Study materials, tuition, certification vouchers costs are $17,075.00. Personnel costs are $ $21,566.00. The total grant request with indirect costs: $49,117.00

Measures of Success

The most basic measure of success will be for each student to pass both the CySA+ & PenTest+ certification exams within 90 days of training. The next quantifiable measure of success will be to track program completers to find out if they were hired faster and for more pay than their peers who do not complete the additional training. We have historic data to compare this group to. The major qualitative benefit would be to enable students to qualify for better opportunities than their peers. This would be measured in two ways: Student surveys from all recent graduates, as well as phone interviews with employers to determine if students who received the additional training are regarded as higher assets to that of their peers. Project milestones and deliverables will also be measured through detailed SMART goals as outlined in the body of this proposal.

(Coalescing All Resources for Engagement, Enrollment, and Readiness of Students in Cybersecurity)

FAU is submitting this grant as a member of Region 2 in the Florida Cyber-Pathways Program. Briefly, FAU with its ~30,000 students is located between Broward and Palm Beach Counties which, combined, have a population of ~3.5 million people (excluding Dade County). The University is an Hispanic Serving Institution and has a minority population of ~49% and female population of ~57%. These dynamics situate FAU in one of the largest and fastest-growing high-tech industry corridors in the US. The University offers undergraduate and graduate programs/courses/ certifications and minors in cybersecurity (CS) across three colleges (College of Engineering and Computer Science, College of Science, and the College of Business). Curricular ‘blending’ across all programs provides students with a broader view of CS career pathways. The project’s three major goals align with the intent of the Florida Cybersecurity Pathways initiative:(1) curricular alignment and early introduction to cybersecurity, (2) increased academia-industry-government partnerships, and (3) an expansive marketing campaign to (a) increase career awareness and enrollment of students (e.g., Underrepresented groups, Veterans, and returning-to-school adults) in a cybersecurity program, (b) inform industry-government of our expanded focus on cybersecurity, (c) inform the general public, (d) expand our K-12 outreach activities (e.g., cryptology summer institute; NSF-funded high school cybersecurity pilot), and (e) link students’ technical, business, and skills preparation through use of an Individual Professional Plan (IPP) in CS and post-graduation tracking. Combined, these goals will support anticipated enrollment increase of 60% and an industry-aligned program focus to enhance students’ career pathways.

The CAREERS – in Cybersecurity project will have immediate and long-term benefits to the university, our partner state colleges, and community in terms of faculty development that supports curricular alignment with industry standards, retaining two instructors hired by the project for expanded course offerings, early integration of cybersecurity in core courses across three colleges, entry-level certification, and a dynamic one-stop-shopping go-to Cybersecurity website. All colleges will increase their industry-government partnerships to guide program enhancements and increase student opportunities. All Colleges will benefit from the mass-marketing campaign (i.e., increased visibility and enrollment). The importance of America’s cybersecurity infrastructure and the extreme nature of cybersecurity and ransomware threats across all segments of society and our national defense clearly warrants the CAREERS -in Cybersecurity Project with its’ razor-sharp focus on advancing career pathways for URM students, Veterans and others in a manner that will be sustained and enhanced beyond the timeline of the project. Resources requirements to implement CAREERS in Cybersecurity are as follows: (a) Personnel: 5 principal investigators, faculty professional development and curricular adaptation (module/video development; industry certification,) two instructors*, one coordinator, $317,596 + fringe: $91,126. (*College of Business and Eng-Computer Science to pick up cost at completion of the grant), (b) Other Direct Costs: Consultants- advertising/marketing, region-wide advertising campaign (+ billboards, ads, social media) for recruitment and broadening awareness, K-12 outreach, technical supplies, Industry-government regional conference, industry internship training, $390,250. (c) Indirect Costs: $39,511. (d) Total project budget + fringe = $838,483.

With the increasing demand for critical skilled workers in cybersecurity and information technology (IT), Florida is experiencing a vital need to make cybersecurity a more accessible topic for high school students and working-class individuals. This proposal brings together the University of South Florida (USF), school districts with high needs, and prospective employees in the field to address this need through an innovative learning and professional development experience.

The program mainly focuses on fulfilling the need for a trained and educated workforce in Florida that is prepared to fill cybersecurity and information technology jobs through a pragmatically designed learning experience covering a broad spectrum of knowledge and well-crafted hands-on training. It aims to cover different learning groups, including middle/high school students, college students, and employees, particularly with non-IT backgrounds, to enable competitive workforce know-how in the 21st century. At a glance, the program’s curriculum is tailor-designed to achieve multiple objectives. On the one hand, it is designed to motivate the program participants, especially young students, about the importance of cybersecurity and fruitful career opportunities that are available in their journey ahead. To achieve that, a proper mix of hands-on exercises, training, and the latest advances in cybersecurity research is included in the curriculum. On the other hand, we aim to prepare the prospective students to sit for a globally recognized, industry-standard cybersecurity certification exam so that, by the time of completion of this proposed program, students will be ready to jumpstart their IT security careers. Moreover, the number of participants who successfully complete the program and earn the certification will be used as an outcome measure of this project.

This program will be delivered through USF Tampa and St. Petersburg campuses in coordination with the Department of Electrical Engineering at USF (Tampa) and the Department of Criminology at USF (St. Petersburg), having the vision of better serving the Tampa Bay area community. As a result, the project will enhance the lifelong application of cybersecurity concepts and techniques among the young generation and people in their early careers through a systemic training program that includes take-home components, monthly Saturday symposiums, and a month-long summer experience. The program outcomes will include a new set of students/workforce who understand the best practices of cybersecurity, not only through theoretical aspects of it but also through a diverse set of skills learned with hands-on exercises. As detailed in Section C of this proposal, the curriculum delivery schedule is tailor-designed to fit into different learning groups (such as high-school students, college students, and working-class adults) and their learning styles.

The overall program will be carried out through six tasks starting from June 2022, and the program will attract continuing participation and support beyond the performance period

 Florida International University, under the leadership of FIU’s Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy and FIU’s Emerging Preeminent Program Cybersecurity@FIU, is proposing to expand its existing Cyber Threat Intelligence Fellowship Program to bolster the talent pipeline feeding the cybersecurity workforce in public and private sectors across the state of Florida. The Cyber Threat Intelligence Fellowship Program was founded in 2019 under FIU’s Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) sponsored Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence (IC-CAE) to support the U.S intelligence community cyber workforce pipeline. FIU’s plan is to scale out and focus its programming to meet the growing cybersecurity workforce gap in Florida. 

For over four decades, FIU has positioned itself as one of South Florida’s anchor institutions by tackling some of the greatest challenges of our time. An urban Hispanic Serving Institution, FIU is a part of Florida’s State University System, with a student population of more than 56,000. As a research institution, FIU is rated within the highest ranking among U.S. higher education (R1: Doctoral Universities – Highest Research Activity), has a strong research-oriented faculty, and extensive graduate and community outreach programs. Additionally, the Florida Board of Governors designated FIU as an “Emerging Preeminent State Research University.” FIU has one of the most diverse student bodies in the nation; 67% of FIU students are Hispanic, 12% are Black, 13% are from other ethnic minority groups, and 56% are female. 

FIU’s Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) Fellowship Program will provide at least 40 students with a yearlong cybersecurity workforce pathway program that includes interdisciplinary academic training, mentorship, professional development, and guaranteed internships at the conclusion of the program. Additionally, the program will provide Security+ certification training and cover the cost of examinations for CTI Fellows. The program will actively recruit women and students from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds within the FIU student community to meet or exceed a 90% minority participation in the program. 

Florida Department of Education/Cyber Florida funding will assist FIU in scaling its CTI program by doubling it in size and expanding the program to support the Florida’s cyber workforce needs. Further refinement of the program will also aid in establishing a model that can be scaled across the state of Florida at other State University System (SUS) schools. The market rate model and the private sector partners established during the programs implementation will assist the sustainability of the program beyond initial funding. FIU can help lead this effort across the state in our years. 

Hillsborough and Pinellas County Public Schools are excited to collaborate with Cyber Florida and the University of South Florida to build a modernized Digital Information Technology (DIT) course with a curriculum and content which is accessible to a broad population of middle and high school students across the two school district areas. Per the Florida Department of Education (FDOE), the DIT course is a 1.0 credit course with 180 hours of instruction designed to provide a basic overview of current business and information systems and trends, and to introduce students to fundamental skills required for today’s business and academic environment (https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/18703/urlt/DIT-2019-20.rtf). The subgrant awarded by the Florida Department of Education and administered by Cyber Florida (Cyber/IT Pathway) for the purpose of strengthening the state’s ability to fill high-demand careers in cybersecurity and information technology can be used to accelerate the development of an updated DIT course implemented in grades 8 through 12 which can prepare students to be successful both personally and professionally in an information-based society.

According to a FDOE District survey report for the 2021-22 public school year there are 69,720 public school students enrolled in DIT across 64 Florida public school Districts. Currently, 8,466 students are enrolled in DIT throughout various middle and high schools within the Hillsborough and Pinellas County School Districts. The current FDOE standard for DIT (8207310) includes student performance standards which consists of generalized topics that can be used to bridge students toward specialized technology topics such as cybersecurity. Although the current version of DIT is reaching a significant population of students within the Florida public-school districts, more development is necessary to improve the accessibility of DIT content across the general population or specific populations in need such as Spanish-speaking students or students with special learning needs.

The current DIT course curriculum implemented throughout our district high schools is limited to content without the support of a textbook or access to multiple teaching modalities which could serve as an inclusive approach to educating our general population of students. Additionally, an updated DIT curriculum can include content that encourages students within our minority or underserved communities to engage in technology and/or cybersecurity concepts which may offer an opportunity to participate in the future of Florida’s workforce.

The primary investigator for this grant proposal, Dr. Clinton Daniel of the University of South Florida, has been closely engaged with the Career and Technical Education (CTE) departments of both school Districts for over 2 years. This collaborative engagement has included various pilots (including pilots funded by Cyber Florida) on creative ideas for modernizing the DIT curriculum, understanding gaps within the DIT curriculum, and advising the future direction of technology in middle and high school education.

This collaborative effort between USF and these public-school districts has inspired the pursuit of significant funding to sufficiently resource the modernization of the DIT curriculum. The overall partnership will include a proposed budget of $625,196 which combines resources from USF Innovative Education, USF Faculty, USF Students, CTE key personnel, Public School Teachers and Students, a professional writer, and a professional comic book designer. This funded endeavor will enable our institutions to move forward with an initiative which addresses gaps within the current DIT course delivery and make it more accessible, scalable, and sustainable for our diverse Florida middle and high school student population.

For this grant, we seek to expand the Department of Criminology’s professional education courses in cybercrime investigations for law enforcement officers. We plan to develop an eight-hour training course on Cybercrime Awareness and Introduction to Digital Evidence Recognition and Collection for Florida Law Enforcement Officers and provide the training to law enforcement officers in Florida. The grant also seeks to update the existing 40-hour Undercover Cybercrime Investigations training and provide the training to law enforcement officers in Florida. The police officers will be provided the training for free via the USF Corporate Training and Professional Education Department. The grant will pay the USF Corporate Training and Professional Education Department to host the virtual courses within Canvas, register students online, and issue digital certificates after completion.

The need for training in cybercrime awareness and investigations for local law enforcement has been well established (Holt, Burruss & Bossler, 2015, Brunner, 2020; Monaghan, 2020). This grant will help meet the need of Florida law enforcement departments. We will partner with the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office to ensure the new course meets the needs of the law enforcement officers and departments. The training will also count towards the required continuing education of the officers as required by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

The training will be developed and taught by two instructors, both with decades of experience investigating cybercrimes and conducting digital forensics for the United States Secret Service and the United States Department of Defense. The principal investigator, Dr. Thomas Hyslip, is an Assistant Professor of Instruction in USF’s Department of Criminology and will oversee the course development and serve as an instructor in both courses. Mr. Gary Rudd is a Cybercrime Assistant in USF’s Department of Criminology and will develop and instruct both courses.

Within the State of Florida, there are 67 sheriffs and 161 police departments with 42,220 law enforcement officers. This grant will allow 1,220 police officers to receive training on cybercrime awareness and digital evidence recognition and collection and 240 officers or detectives to receive training on undercover cybercrime investigations. This ensures that at least five officers from every department and sheriff’s office in Florida can attend the cybercrime awareness and digital evidence recognition and collection course. One officer from each department and sheriff’s office can attend the undercover cybercrime investigations course.

The total grant request is $151,254, of which $97,024 is salary, $43,200 is registration and credentials, $5,430 for software, computers, and a camera, and $5,600 is for travel. This equates to only $105.04 per officer to train 1440 police officers in the much-needed areas of cybercrime awareness and digital evidence recognition and collection and undercover cybercrime investigations.

Florida A&M University [FAMU] College of Science & Technology [CST] in partnership with Bisk Company’s Online Solutions focuses on attracting new candidates into the field of cyber security, a career path that can provide economic stability and opportunities for advancement. Career-ready Cyber Boot Camps and apprenticeships provide immediate short term academic pathways to an entry level role in the field. Bachelor’s degree programs provide foundations for long term pathways to scale and sustain growth in cybersecurity field and its future [addressing its expected ever-increasing shortage] vacancies. Precollege engagement provides cybersecurity awareness, early skill set development and broadening participation. These multiple independent, collaborative elements provide foundation and infrastructure for expanding existing programmatics in CST and the pipeline potential of FAMU’s K-12 Developmental Research School [DRS] for pathways to the workforce, research, and advanced education in cybersecurity.

FAQs

General Program FAQs

What is the purpose of this grant?

The purpose of the Expanding Cybersecurity and Information Technology Pathways program is to increase the number of trained and/or educated workers in Florida that are prepared to fill cybersecurity/information technology (IT) jobs in the state and the Nation.

Can you elaborate on the Pathways Grant goals so we can be sure to address these goals in our proposal?
  1. To develop a highly skilled cybersecurity and IT workforce by expanding education/training programs through partnerships with business and industry and investments in critical infrastructure.
  2. To identify and support a viable range of ‘proof of concept’ initiatives that can be expanded and scaled to strengthen the state’s cybersecurity and IT education pathways that best align Florida’s K-12 and postsecondary systems to Cyber/IT workforce demands.
  3. Through the Cybersecurity and IT Pathways Expansion Grant, partnerships will:
    • Develop and implement education and training programs that integrate employer/industry involvement in program design and delivery.
    • Support hands-on, work-based learning and training opportunities.
    • Promote student enrollment and progression in cybersecurity/IT courses and educational programs from one level to the next
    • Prepare students for industry certification examinations.
    • Development of model articulation agreements and processes.
    • The design and development of new and emerging frameworks that support the evolving needs of business, industry, and the state.
    • Recommended policies, standards, and mechanisms (including Web-based mechanisms) for long-term adoption and sustainability of Cyber/IT educational programs.
Who is eligible to apply?
  • Florida public school districts;
  • Florida post-secondary technical career centers and charter technical career centers;
  • Florida College System (FCS) institutions; and
  • State University System (SUS) institutions.
  • These entities are defined further under the following Florida statutes: §1001.30, §1001.44, §1002.34, §1000.21(3), and §1000.21(6).
  • While the activities proposed within subgrant applications may include multiple partner organizations, each application must be submitted and led by at least one eligible entity as defined above.
  • Recognizing that robust public/private partnerships are an important component of workforce education, and as such, project partners may include private businesses, other government entities and jurisdictions, and nonprofit organizations.

All appropriate conflict of interest rules shall apply without exception.

When are applications due?

By 5:00 PM EST on Monday, April 18, 2022

Am I required to submit a letter of intent prior to applying?
  • While you are encouraged to submit a notice of intent to apply by 3/23/22, it is not a requirement.
  • The Cyber/IT Pathways program office will be better able to manage the application and review process if we have a rough idea of how many applications to expect.
  • Prospective applicants are encouraged to submit a non-binding Notice of Intent to Apply to pathways@cyberflorida.org by no later than the close of business on March 23, 2022, consisting of a brief project description and statement of intent to apply for funding; additional details are welcome, but notices need not include any other application details.
How do I submit an application?
  • The application period is now closed. Information on funded projects is coming soon.
What is needed to submit the application?

Please download the Call for Applications document here. The application will include the following:

  • Project/program summary
  • Table of contents
  • Detailed project/program narrative including the following information:
    1. Problem statement
    2. Proposed Project/Program Objectives
    3. Proposed results and other performance measures
    4. Proposed plan including budget justification/narrative
    5. Relevant past performance
    6. Proposed evaluation plan
    7. Contributions to Pathway Grant goals
  • Key Personnel Resumes (will not count towards 15-page limit)
  • Proposed budget spreadsheet (will not count towards 15-page limit)
  • References (will not count towards 15-page limit)
How long is the grant period for?

The grant funding period is from approximately May/June 2022 through August 2023. Applicants will be notified they were selected as subaward recipients for funding to be issued as soon as possible, which we expect to be between mid-May and mid-June 2022. Final subaward reports are due no later than August 15, 2023.

How much funding is available?

In total, approximately $17 million will be awarded as subgrants to applicants to this subgrant program. Of that total, approximately one-third of available funds will be awarded as subgrants to applicants from the Tampa Bay area, as defined in the initial FLDOE grant; and approximately one-third will be awarded as subgrants to applicants from the Greater Miami area, also defined in the initial FLDOE grant. In addition, Cyber Florida has determined that the remainder of available funds will be awarded as subgrants to ‘at large’ applicants from other areas of the state.

The final number and size of projects that receive funding will be determined based on an evaluation of applications received. In that regard, among other factors, subgrant awards will fund those programs that potentially contribute the most to the overall purpose of the FLDOE grant, and as specified below, these must be included in a subgrant application.

What are the regions of the projects?

Region 1: Greater Tampa Bay Area, including the following counties: Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Sarasota, and Manatee, including:

  • University of South Florida
  • Hillsborough School District
  • Pasco County Schools
  • Pinellas County Schools
  • Manatee School District
  • Sarasota County School District
  • Hillsborough Community College
  • Petersburg College
  • Pasco-Hernando State College
  • State College of Florida, Manatee –Sarasota
  • Polk State College

Region 2: Greater Miami Area, including the following counties: Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach, including:

  • Florida International University
  • Miami-Dade Public Schools
  • Broward County Schools
  • Palm Beach County Schools
  • Miami Dade College
  • Broward College
  • Palm Beach State College

At-Large: All other geographical locations within the state of Florida not within Region 1 or Region 2

Program Eligibility

Who is eligible to apply?
  • Florida public school districts;
  • Florida post-secondary technical career centers and charter technical career centers;
  • Florida College System (FCS) institutions; and
  • State University System (SUS) institutions.
  • These entities are defined further under the following Florida statutes: §1001.30, §1001.44, §1002.34, §1000.21(3), and §1000.21(6).
  • While the activities proposed within subgrant applications may include multiple partner organizations, each application must be submitted and led by at least one eligible entity as defined above.
  • Recognizing that robust public/private partnerships are an important component of workforce education, and as such, project partners may include private businesses, other government entities and jurisdictions, and non-profit organizations.
  • All appropriate conflict of interest rules shall apply without exception.
Is any priority or preference given based on the type of education institution, students, location, or existing pathway projects/programs applying?

The applicant must meet eligibility requirements. Among eligible applicants, no preference or priority will be given based on the type of educational institution. All applications will be reviewed fairly and competitively.

Do we have to team up with a different Florida university to apply for the sub-grants?

No, as long as application is submitted by an eligible organization. The applicant can be any individual qualified organization or any combination.

Why are only existing projects/programs being encouraged?

The grant period is limited to about 15 months. Creating an entirely new project in that amount of time may be unrealistic. In evaluating each proposal, the Pathways team will consider the likelihood of success within the given timeframe. Proposals with the greatest potential for statewide adoption, scalability, and sustainability will be favored.

How many schools per district may participate?

No limit. Proposals with the greatest potential for statewide adoption, scalability, and sustainability will be favored.

My team is considering only applying to expand information technology pathways. Is that acceptable or do we need to include cybersecurity?

Yes, a program focusing on one would be eligible for consideration.

Since cybersecurity cuts across the IT program areas (programming, cloud computing, databases, web applications, networking) would a hybrid course sequence be applicable to increase enrollment in cyber?

The program described would be eligible for consideration.

Would the addition of a cybersecurity course to a health science, agriculture, or other pathway be considered a programmatic outcome?

The program described would be eligible for consideration.

Budget/Allowable Expenses

Can you tell me what type of funding this is? For instance, legislative appropriation.

Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act, 2021, Pub. L. No. 116-260

How much funding is available?

In total, approximately $17 million will be awarded as subgrants to applicants to this subgrant program. Of that total, approximately one-third of available funds will be awarded as subgrants to applicants from the Tampa Bay area, as defined in the initial FLDOE grant; and approximately one-third will be awarded as subgrants to applicants from the Greater Miami area, also defined in the initial FLDOE grant. In addition, Cyber Florida has determined that the remainder of available funds will be awarded as subgrants to ‘at large’ applicants from other areas of the state.

The final number and size of projects that receive funding will be determined based on an evaluation of applications received. In that regard, among other factors, subgrant awards will fund those programs that potentially contribute the most to the overall purpose of the FLDOE grant, and as specified below, these must be included in a subgrant application.

What indirect cost rate applies to my proposal?

Please note that the Pathways program is a grant of federal funds from the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) to Cyber Florida at USF. You are applying for a sub-award to that grant. All sub-awards are subject to the same guidance on indirect costs issued by the FDOE for the initial grant.

FDOE will allow other state agencies, state universities, and state colleges to charge an indirect cost (administrative and/or overhead) up to 5% or the recipients rate approved by the appropriate cognizant agency, whichever is lower. This rate may be charged on the total direct costs dispersed less the amounts of subcontracts in excess of $25,000 and for items of equipment, alterations, renovations and flow through funds (“pass-through” to another entity) on programs issued by the department. This rate is intended to be all inclusive of typical administrative and overhead costs, including but not limited to rental of office space, costs for bookkeeping and accounting services, and utilities. In the alternative, the department will approve an indirect cost rate of 5% plus the Direct charges for typical administrative overhead costs, such as office space rental when such costs can be directly and appropriately allocated to the program.

How much will a typical award be for and how many will be awarded?
  • This is a new grant program, and largely unprecedented. The FDOE is asking for the best ideas from the education community across the state for projects that will increase the quantity and quality of job-ready cybersecurity/IT workers.
  • There is no individual proposal dollar limit on a proposal.
  • Your budget should be commensurate with your proposed outcomes, no more, no less.
  • Total available, approx. $17M, approx. 1/3 of those funds will be dispersed amongst individual projects within each of the three regions.
How much money is available for individual institutions?

There is no institutional dollar limit.

Is there a budget template for this proposal?

General pathways proposal budget template to serve as a guide for planning is available on our website here. For helpful insight on budget categories within allowable costs, please see these links for USF Guidelines as well as the Florida Department of Education Guidelines.

Do you have to spend the funds in one year?

All funds should be spent by August 2023.

What are allowable expenses?
  • Funds must be used solely for activities that directly support the accomplishment of the program purpose, priorities and expected outcomes during the program period. All expenditures must be consistent with the approved application, as well as applicable state and federal laws, regulations and guidance. Funds may be used to:
  • Hire qualified instructors.
  • Procure necessary equipment and supplies.
  • Subsidize tuition and fees for individuals enrolled in cybersecurity or cyber-related IT coursework.
  • Convene workgroups and sub-grantees for the purposes specifically set forth in this grant.
  • Recruit students into and retain students in cybersecurity and IT related programs.
  • Subsidize costs associated with technical or technology improvements to classrooms.
What are unallowable expenses?
  • Meals, refreshments, or snacks
  • Incentives (e.g., gift cards, plaques, trophies, stickers, t-shirts, give-a-ways)
  • Decorations
  • Purchase of facilities or vehicles (e.g., buildings, buses, vans, cars)
  • Land acquisition
  • Furniture
  • Kitchen appliances (e.g., refrigerators, microwaves, stoves, tabletop burners)
  • Capital improvements and permanent renovations (e.g., playgrounds, buildings, fences, wiring)
  • Costs not allowable for federal programs per the USDE General Administration Regulations (EDGAR), which may be found here and the Reference Guide for State Expenditures, which may be found here.
Can funds be used to upgrade a lab to meet industry standard needs?

Yes, subject to specific rules on allowable/unallowable expenses.

Will this grant cover the cost of a teacher as the grant begins and then the district would take over?

Yes, subject to specific rules on allowable/unallowable expenses.

Can the grant provide for the opportunity to renovate a classroom?

Refer to allowable/unallowable expenses. Yes, for equipment and supplies. No, for furniture, decorations, kitchen appliances, etc.

Does this grant pay for an instructor?

Yes, subject to specific rules on allowable/unallowable expenses.

Can you focus on Pre-K? Can you focus on a single grade level?

Yes, as long as it meets all other criteria. Proposals will be evaluated based on potential to contribute to the overall grant purpose of increasing quantity and quality of skilled cybersecurity/IT workers.

Can the funds be used to assist K-12 teachers in gaining industry certifications (e.g. CompTIA ITF+, Sec+, etc.)?

Yes, subject to specific allowable/unallowable expenses.

Are there any procedures we need to follow if one of our team members is an expert from out of state, and who we would like to compensate for their efforts on the proposal. They have no affiliation with a university, but are subject matter experts we feel comfortable working with. Are there any procedures we need to follow if one of our team members is an expert from within the state?

Subject to specific allowable/unallowable expenses.

Can we use this as an integrated training opportunity for adult education students?

Yes, as long as it is aligned with the purpose of the grant and meets the selection criteria

Can workforce readiness or certification prep be attached to existing degree or certificate programs?

Eligible

Can I use the grant for individual training for myself in order to provide better training for my students?

Yes, as long as it is aligned with the purpose of the grant and meets the selection criteria

Are there any limits to personnel support, participant support, or travel?

Refer to allowable/unallowable. No program-specific limits.

Can teacher professional development funds be used to get teachers certified to teach courses in the Cybersecurity/IT pathway?

Yes

Our district does not currently have a cybersecurity or IT teacher, can we use the funds for e-courseware and certification prep software?

Yes, subject to specific allowable/unallowable expenses.

Can a training program designed for workforce outcomes include funds for general employability skills?

Yes

Merit/Performance of Programs

Is there a penalty for not reaching proposed outcomes?
  • Non-performance is different than not reaching outcomes.
  • If you do what you say you are going to do and don’t achieve outcomes, that isn’t non-performance.
  • Any standard penalties for non-performance in federal and state rules apply.
Is an external evaluator required or can an internal evaluator be used?

An external or internal evaluator can be used but is not required.

Section IV.B. mentions Grant Coordinators – How often will inquiries be made concerning project status, budget, deliverables, and progress toward milestones? What type of data will be expected to be collected by the project team? Should the Evaluation Plan include data collection pertaining to these inquiries?

It depends on the specific needs of your project and it could vary greatly. The primary goal of the grant coordinator will be to help you succeed.

Can you elaborate on the Pathways Grant Goals so we can be sure to address these goals in our proposal?
  • To develop a highly skilled cybersecurity and IT workforce by expanding education/training programs through partnerships with business and industry and investments in critical infrastructure.
  • To identify and support a viable range of ‘proof of concept’ initiatives that can be expanded and scaled to strengthen the state’s cybersecurity and IT education pathways that best align Florida’s K-12 and postsecondary systems to Cyber/IT workforce demands.
  • Through the Cybersecurity and IT Pathways Expansion Grant, partnerships will:
    • Develop and implement education and training programs that integrate employer/industry involvement in program design and delivery.
    • Support hands-on, work-based learning and training opportunities.
    • Promote student enrollment and progression in cybersecurity/IT courses and educational programs from one level to the next
    • Prepare students for industry certification examinations.
    • Develop model articulation agreements and processes.
    • Design and develop new and emerging frameworks that support the evolving needs of business, industry, and the state.
    • Recommend policies, standards, and mechanisms (including web-based mechanisms) for long-term adoption and sustainability of Cyber/IT educational programs

Regional Coordination

What are the regions of the projects?

Region 1: Greater Tampa Bay Area, including the following counties: Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Sarasota, and Manatee, including:

  • University of South Florida
  • Hillsborough School District
  • Pasco County Schools
  • Pinellas County Schools
  • Manatee School District
  • Sarasota County School District
  • Hillsborough Community College
  • Petersburg College
  • Pasco-Hernando State College
  • State College of Florida, Manatee –Sarasota
  • Polk State College

Region 2: Greater Miami Area, including the following counties: Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach, including:

  • Florida International University
  • Florida Atlantic University
  • Miami-Dade Public Schools
  • Broward County Schools
  • Palm Beach County Schools
  • Miami Dade College
  • Broward College
  • Palm Beach State College

At-Large: All other geographical locations within the state of Florida not within Region 1 or Region 2

Where will the regional coordination offices be located?
  • Region 1 will be led by the University of South Florida
  • Region 2 will be led by Florida International University
  • At Large Region TBD
Would a state-wide proposal fit the “at large” applicant pool?

If your primary project team and/or activity is in the Tampa or Miami areas, apply there. State-wide scalability will be considered in all proposals.

Section IV.B. mentions Grant Coordinators – How often will inquiries be made concerning project status, budget, deliverables, and progress toward milestones? What type of data will be expected to be collected by the project team? Should the Evaluation Plan include data collection pertaining to these inquiries?

It depends on the specific needs of your project and it could vary greatly. The primary goal of the grant coordinator will be to help you succeed.

If a collaborative proposal is submitted involving one institution in one designated region with another institution outside of that region, which region would that application be categorized as?

The location of lead institution and key personnel will determine the region for the application. The other institution (s), whether located in a different designated region or within the at-large region, will be noted as such within the partnership details.

What if I have more questions or need more information?

Prospective applicants are encouraged to read all grant application materials carefully, and for any questions not answered in the FAQ section, please contact the Pathways Grant Program Office at pathways@cyberflorida.org.