Re-envisioned opportunities
Tech receives $1.9 million in federal funding for AI scholarships
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HOUGHTON -- Michigan Technological University announced last week it had been awarded $1.9 million in federal funding from the National Science Foundation to support up to 11 students with two-year full ride scholarships in cybersecurity and AI fields.
Associate Dean of the College of Computing and Professor of Applied Computing, Yu Cai said the CyberAI Corps Scholarship for Service Program (SFS) is an expanded version of the 2021 CyberCorps scholarships.
"After five years, that program has been very successful," he said. "The new grant, is similar, but expanded its area from cybersecurity to cybersecurity and AI."
According to Michigan Tech, Cai has been tasked with leading the charge to recruit students to the SFS program. Cai said those who receive funding will have to serve in the public sector in a related job field as part of the scholarship requirements.
"We're looking at junior or senior students who want to pursue a combined degree of Bachelor and Masters in Cybersecurity and AI," he said. "Since the money comes from the U.S. government, students need to serve the country by serving in public organizations or government agencies equal to the scholarship period."
According to Cai, 20 students at Tech received funding from CyberCorps in the past and he is excited for the program to expand.
"We always have highly motivated students serving the country," he said. "There's a huge demand from the U.S. government for cybersecurity and AI talent. That means there's a lot of job opportunities."
Department of Computer Science Professor Jean Mayo and Associate Professor Bo Chen, Department of Applied Computing Senior Lecturer Todd Arney, Frontiers Research institute Program Development Specialist Pinyin Tan and Pails Honors College Instructor and Curriculum Development Specialist Chris Hohnholt join Cai on the project's faculty research team.
"There's a lot of faculty doing cutting-edge research in those two areas," Cai said. "We also offer a whole spectrum of degrees in cybersecurity and AI... we also have a lot of different courses covering those two important topics which gives students an opportunity to update their skill sets."
Cai added youth-outreach programs such as CyberHusky help gauge younger students' interests in AI and computing fields. "This [funding] represents the excellence of Michigan Tech in research, teaching, education and community service in the area of cybersecurity and AI," he said.
To learn more about SFS and to apply, visit mtu.edu/sfs or email sfs@mtu.edu.