Need grant money? The Cyber Institute is accepting applications

The Cyber Institute at Augusta University wants to bring together different disciplines across the institution to solve problems creatively through its 2018 Interdisciplinary Intramural Awards Program.

The institute will award grants to Augusta University full-time faculty who need funding for scholarly activities that are cyber-related.

“It is imperative to include cybersecurity across disciplines because of cyber’s pervasiveness – it literally applies to almost everything we do,” said Walidah Walker, cyber program development coordinator. “New technologies are coming out every day – these technologies touch almost every field of study…. Cyber provides a platform to bring together researchers that may not normally work together. It provides a vehicle for new collaborations, new innovations and new ways of thinking.”

The Cyber Institute’s goal is to spark innovative research in cybersecurity that cross disciplinary boundaries.

Grantees can use the funds for curriculum development, research project, student support, conference registration and travel.

There is no limit to the amount of money faculty can apply for.

“We did not want to set monetary restrictions. We want collaborations to spawn ideas of innovation and creativity,” Walker said. “Though monetary resources are not exhaustive – we didn’t want it to be an impediment to researchers thinking of their most ingenious ideas.”

Past recipients have worked on projects such as:

• The cyber workforce study conducted by the Master of Public Administration Program and the Cyber Institute;
• Research on security and privacy concerns of using wearable technology such as FitBit conducted by the Department of Clinical and Digital Health Sciences;
• The online e-government training and security modules prepared by the Master of Public Administration program;
• Research on conspiracy theories and cognitive biases and their applications to cybersecurity conducted by the Department of Psychological Sciences, the Department of Political Science, and the Cyber Institute.

The deadline for applications is Oct. 20. A peer review committee will analyze the applications and announce award recipients on Nov. 3.