The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force (NMUSAF) is inviting students entering grades 9 through 12 to apply to be a member of the Museum's "CyberPatriot Program” for the 2022/2023 school year. CyberPatriot is the National Youth Cyber Education Program created by the Air Force Association (AFA) to inspire K-12 students towards careers in cybersecurity and learning about securing computer networks. Applicants should have a strong desire to work on a team of students and be interested in cybersecurity or other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. They should also have the time and dedication to commit to this 10-11 month learning and competition program. Materials and equipment will be provided by the Museum.
 

At the center of CyberPatriot is the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition which puts teams of high school and middle school in the position of newly hired IT professionals tasked with managing the computers and network of a small company. Through a series of online competition rounds, teams are given a set of virtual operating systems and are tasked with finding and fixing cybersecurity vulnerabilities while maintaining critical services. Please go to the CyberPatriot website to learn more at https://www.uscyberpatriot.org/home prior to making a decision to apply for an opportunity on this year’s team at the Museum.
 

The Museum is looking for students who are eager to learn, who want to contribute to a team effort, and who have the time and interest to devote to this fun program. It requires a lot of work to be successful, but the rewards are numerous! Colleges and employers are looking for students with just the kind of experiences and skills that being on a Cyber Education Program team will develop. And working on computer programs is educational, fun, and promotes comradery!
 

Previous experience with cyber technology is not a requirement. However, a strong dedication to learn and the willingness - and ability - to spend the effort and time is a must!
 

The program runs from approximately March 2022 to January 2023. The frequency of meetings varies throughout the process: two times a month on Saturdays and one virtual meeting would be expected. Meetings, training rounds, and competition will be held at the NMUSAF (Dayton, OH). The only exception would be if the team made finals at the end.

Register here for this exciting program!
 

For more information about this, or other educational programs, please contact the Education Division at nationalmuseum.mut@us.af.mil or call (937) 255-4652.

Materials for this program are provided through the generosity of the Air Force Museum Foundation, Inc. 
(Federal endorsement is not implied).