WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NobleReach Foundation has signed a five-year Education Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the National Security Agency to offer STEM education support, certificate and internship programs, including the Innovation for Intelligence, Innovation for Impact™️ curriculum and Innovation for Public Service™️ Certificate, to 22 Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA). The partnership will enable students with critical science, technology and entrepreneurship skills to engage with public service issues, pursue mission-driven work and consider a future career in the intelligence community.
“We worked with NobleReach to secure tangible opportunities for bright, committed young people to put their skills to use solving the unprecedented national security challenges we face,” said Karen Presley, Director, Office of Research and Technology Applications at NSA. “Our greatest strength as a nation is the diversity of its people, who come from all walks of life to answer the call to serve.”
Participating MSIs include:
- Asian American Pacific Islander Serving Institution University of Hawaii System and Metropolitan State University
- Historically Black Colleges and Universities Bowie State University, Clark Atlanta University, Coppin State University, Fayetteville State University, Hampton University, Howard University, Jackson State University, Johnson C. Smith University, Morgan State University, Morehouse College, Morris Brown College, Norfolk State University, North Carolina A&T, Shaw University, Stillman College, Tuskegee University and Winston-Salem State University
- Hispanic Serving Institution The University of Texas Permian Basin, University of Central Florida
- Native American Serving Nontribal Institution University of North Carolina Pembroke
“Tuskegee University has always been involved in solving national problems,” said Dr. Mark A. Brown, President and CEO of Tuskegee University. “This partnership supports our work to prepare students with industry-appropriate certifications, badging and meaningful internships. This is yet another example of Tuskegee’s dedication to prepare leaders to serve our nation when needed.”
“Our students exemplify the talent we need to compete on today’s global stage,” added Brian Shedd, Executive Director for the Office of Innovation and Commercialization at The University of Texas Permian Basin. “This program provides a welcome avenue to attract strong candidates to the national security community to bolster talent development in essential fields like cybersecurity and AI.”
NobleReach’s Innovation for Impact™️ program is a semester-long for-credit graduate university course that challenges STEM, business and policy students to leverage entrepreneurial methods and tools to solve urgent civil, environmental, security, social and technological challenges in today’s world. The Innovation for Public Service™️ Certificate is a 10-plus credit hour certificate and internship program available to STEM undergraduate students to deepen their exposure to public service and build connections with local and national government, policy research centers and federal agencies.
“Participants in our programs consistently demonstrate the desire to solve big problems and make a positive impact,” said Dr. Linda Bixby, NobleReach Foundation Executive Vice President for Academic Partnerships. “This partnership will create new pathways for mission-driven students to access careers in national security to the benefit of all.”
About NobleReach Foundation
NobleReach™️ Foundation, a nonprofit based just outside Washington, D.C., has a mission to strengthen the security and prosperity of our nation through talent and innovation. NobleReach brings together the entrepreneurial agility of the private sector, the ideas of academia, and the scale and purpose of the public sector to drive innovation toward solving our nation’s technological challenges by inspiring the next generation of mission-driven changemakers. Our talent initiatives are focused on bridging professionals in tech and entrepreneurship fields with opportunities in government. Our innovation efforts center around NobleReach experts partnering with government research agencies to commercialize cutting-edge research.
