Successful Cyber Intern Initiative is Expanding to 40 Companies. Are you interested?

Last year, seven MEC companies  – Colvin Run Networks (MEC-Leesburg), DataLock Consulting Group, KaDSci, LLC, Webworld Technologies, Harmony Tech, Venio Systems Inc., and Itinfra – agreed to host Mason students this past semester, their stipend paid for by the University, to work on their projects. Thanks to this experience, students experienced working in a startup and may decide to launch their own startups in the future.

Recognizing that startups and small businesses are an important and growing part of the Virginia cybersecurity ecosystem, the project focuses on two objectives: to provide cybersecurity students from diverse backgrounds with relevant, hands-on experiential learning opportunities, and to provide cybersecurity startups and subject matter experts with the talent they need to scale their businesses. This project seeks to diversify the cybersecurity talent pipeline and build a resilient and diverse cybersecurity innovation ecosystem that will help Northern Virginia thrive, post-pandemic.

Thanks to the success of the pilot with George Mason University, an additional grant has been approved for 40 companies to participate in the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative Program for this coming fall semester. Recruiting for students and companies is starting now over the summer for a Fall start. Read more here. Visit the Cyber Initiative website.

For more information about the CCI Pilot Program, contact Gisele Stolz at [email protected], PI for George Mason University.