This project will support multi-year efforts to develop a sustainable computer science education and cutting-edge research program, and enhance collaborations with the homeland security enterprise…

This Cooperative Agreement awarded by the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate under the Scientific Leadership Awards (CFDA 97.062) program will provide $1,000,000 over 5 years to Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) and Stanly Community College to develop a sustainable computer science education and cutting-edge research program. The project aims to enhance collaborations with the Homeland Security Enterprise, prepare undergraduate students for STEM careers and graduate studies in the Homeland Security domain, and increase diversity in this community. Key elements include establishing a culture of innovative research, providing experiential learning opportunities that integrate theoretical and industry-standard themes, and offering career development support for students. The project will be led by faculty from JCSU and SCC and involve curriculum development, research projects, student activities management, and data collection.

This project will support multi-year efforts to develop a sustainable computer science education and cutting-edge research program, and enhance collaborations with the homeland security enterprise (HSE), and prepare undergraduate students to find a stem career in HSE domain and also to survive the rigors of graduate studies, and increase the diversity in the HSE community, and provide creative leadership in developing pathways to breakthroughs in the domain of disaster resilience and natural hazards research. This collaborative project between johnson c. Smith university (jcsu) and stanly community college (SCC) will develop a culture of leading-edge innovative research environment and train undergraduate students with relevant expertise through experiential learning hands-on experience so as to prepare students to be ready for careers in HSE domain and graduate school in stem. The need for computer science professionals and graduates to fill these new jobs, and the requisite training and coding literacy, has become a matter of national importance. There are many public studies which also suggested that education programs could better prepare students for a computer science based HSE stem career by providing more hands-on experiential learning opportunities integrating theoretical and industry-standard themes in the curriculum and providing better career development support. The proposed program seeks to bridge the GAP between computer science education, enhancing the research capability and the workforce preparation, by offering academic and research solutions geared toward meeting current and future market demands. The proposed project will be led by faculties from jcsu and SCC with various responsibilities including overseeing faculty and students in relations to building relations, while engaging activities involving other educational institutions, program entities, as well internal interactions within the university. The PI, CO-PI and the project team will be responsible for developing curriculum and research projects, managing students activities, and collecting program data.