Company opportunities
The Southwest Node of the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative internship program enhances Virginia's cyber talent pipeline by increasing the number of training opportunities available to students in Southwest Virginia. The experiential learning provided by this type of internship equips students with highly specialized cybersecurity skills, preparing them to meet the growing demand for cybersecurity talent in the commonwealth and beyond.
Cybersecurity internships can be virtual, in-person, or hybrid during the academic year or in the summer.
Funding available
The internship should be impactful and meaningful to both the student and the organization. It should include training relevant to cybersecurity or cybersecurity adjacent areas. Let us know the funding needed and we will try to partially fund or entirly fund the internship.
Requests will be reviewed as they are received for a limited number of internships.
1. Contact
Organizations with interest in hosting an intern in a cybersecurity-related area of work that wish to have the internship costs funded by CCI Southwest Node should send a message to cyber@vt.edu with subject line: "Internship Program Request." The email should include the following information:
Organization name; Organization point of contact name, email address and phone number; Organization address (including county); Brief description (2-5 sentences) of organization’s work as it relates to cybersecurity; Number of interns you are interested in hiring under this program.
After the company has contacted the CCI SWVA Node, the node and organzation point of contact will work to develop an intern job description.
2. CCI SWVA posts position
CCI SWVA shares the position description to attract students studying at one of the 14 CCI SWVA public institutions of higher education: Radford University, the University of Virginia at Wise, Virginia Military Institute, Virginia Tech, Danville Community College, The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, New College Institute, Mountain Empire Community College, New River Community College, Patrick and Henry Community College, Southwest Community College, Virginia Highlands Community College, Virginia Western Community College, and Wytheville Community College.
3. Company Select intern(s) and creates MOU with CCI SWVA
The organization evaluates applications, interviews, and onboards the intern(s). The organization may select students through soliciting applicants or identifying students through their hiring processes as long as they are current students at a CCI SWVA Node public institution and the organization’s internship program has been approved by CCI SWVA.
The company notifies CCI SWVA of the internship offer by submitting the student's name and the SWVA node institution they are attending. CCI SWVA creates a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the company outlining terms (including the internship timeframe) and reporting requirements.
Event details
Monday, April 3, 2023
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
New Classroom Building Room, Room 170
1455 Perry Street
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg
Meet our talent
In Southwest Virginia, hundreds of students (graduate and undergraduate) are working in labs, internships or training programs. They are tackling cybersecurity in the field and building out their research portfolios. CCI students are developing highly specialized cybersecurity skills to meet growing demands for cybersecurity talent across Southwest Virginia and beyond.
More information
We are looking for judges! At the CCI Student Researcher Showcase, students will talk about the projects they are working on, sharing results and best practice. This is an opportunity for local industry representatives to meet upcoming talent and offer feedback to CCI for how to better engage with the local community.
No special experience is required. Cybersecurity is a factor for all companies to consider, from Mom ‘n’ Pop enterprises to international corporations, so we invite you to bring your expertise and engage with our network.
2023 CCI Student Researcher Showcase Sponsorship tiers
Be a judge - Starboard
We invite you to take part as a guest judge. We will send posters and judging criteria (e.g., technicality, creativity, innovation) ahead of time. Get a preview of cutting-edge research and talent.
Market company - Horizon
We invite you to bring a poster stand or table to the event, to raise awareness of your organization with the CCI network — students and faculty members.
Sponsor a prize - Stargazer
We invite you to offer a prize. Please contact us to discuss what this might look like. Examples include People’s Choice, Originality and Social Impact.
For custom arrangements, please contact the CCI SWVA office at cyber@vt.edu.
Not able to sponsor this event? You are still welcome to join us. Register here.