In honor of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we spoke to Elizabeth Evans, Senior Grants Development Consultant for Education at Grants Office LLC, about the Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) grant offered by the National Science Foundation.

As we increasingly rely on connected devices, networks, and technologies, it’s important that we protect and secure the data they create. Ensuring a secure cyberspace will require trained individuals that understand the threat environment and have the tools to combat attacks, securing our personal and national cyberspace.

The goal of SaTC is to protect and preserve the growing cyberspace by preparing the workforce of tomorrow with the correct skills to do so by providing research, development, and education opportunities. “It’s a very popular opportunity for supporting cybersecurity education at colleges and universities across the county,” said Evans. “You can get up to $400,000 for those projects. Proposals are accepted at any time which gives people a lot more flexibility with submitting when they feel ready, and hopefully leads to higher quality proposals.”

Proposals should be focused on developing new materials, teacher training, and improving education surrounding cybersecurity. “Usually what the NSF is looking to fund are projects that feature new efforts in how we can effectively educate students in the field of cybersecurity,” explained Evans. Since threats are always changing “it’s really hard for cybersecurity educators to prepare and train because students will be fighting threats that haven’t even been invented yet.”

Those interested in the grant should focus on projects that will advance the field of cybersecurity and educate the workforce of tomorrow.