The University of South Carolina Aiken (USCA) has signed an agreement with one of the region’s largest employers to support workforce development.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between USCA and Savannah River Nuclear Solutions addresses the specific needs in the Information Technology (IT) and cybersecurity sectors.
“SRNS is working to strengthen Computer Science opportunities for students in the CSRA. Providing internships and collaborative experiences helps facilitate opportunity and bolsters our workforce through youthful vision and talent,” said Dr. Sean Alford, SRNS Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer in the news release announcing the partnership. “Today’s signing showcases the shared vision we have in this regional pipeline.”
USCA and SRNS will work to provide opportunities that combine classroom instruction and practical applications for students.
“The point of the MOU, our KPIs (key performance indicators) are to increase the number of internship applicants per year, to increase the number of employee applicants per year for these high-demand areas,” Dr. Scott McKay, Dean of Science and Engineering at USCA, explained for ABD. “That’s kind of where the rubber meets the road. And so, each month we’re intentionally meeting with the talent acquisition people at SRNS to make sure we’re delivering what we need to deliver.”
The news release quoted USCA Chancellor Daniel J. Heimmermann, who participated in the signing ceremony, calling the partnership a step forward in the need to prepare students for IT and cyber-related fields.
“At USCA, our students get a world-class educational experience that includes real-world learning in real-world environments. This partnership with SRNS is so important because it enables our students to have valuable work experiences in internships, making them career-ready on day one,” Heimmermann said.
The agreement with USCA brings the number of active MOUs to 15 that SRNS maintains across both South Carolina and Georgia to offer opportunities to students, including job training and assistance.
McKay said the university will take several steps to fulfill its participation, including making students aware that the cybersecurity program is available both on campus and online, making it particularly beneficial for working adult students.
“We developed three Workforce Development certificates that are available online in security, cybersecurity, network security, and cloud computing security that they can access, and we make sure that they know about those, which will increase their credentials,” he said.
USCA is also ensuring the curriculum is based on the best recommendations and designations of the National Security Agency (NSA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). USCA is currently an NSA-designated Cyber Center of Academic Excellence.
In early August, USCA officially opened the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative. McKay said the $66 million, 63,000 square foot building devoted to manufacturing and research plays a role in the university’s ability to meet the workforce demands.
“Four to six (Department of Energy) National Labs are getting billions of dollars of data center and AI designation centers, and Savannah River is one of those. Savannah River also has a global security directorate, which, of course, is cybersecurity. We get all this mentoring from world-class scientists and engineers. Not only for engineering, but also to collaborate with their increasing emphasis in the area of cybersecurity and AI.”
McKay said any current student wanting to be sure they are on the correct educational path for programs developed for the MOU should speak with their student advisor.
