U.S. Department of Defense awards University of Detroit Mercy Cybersecurity consortium $497,080 in sustainment funding

DETROIT, June 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- University of Detroit Mercy (Detroit Mercy) received a $497,080 award from the United States Department of Defense (DoD) in 2024 to sustain its work in establishing the Metro Detroit Regional Vehicle Cybersecurity Institute, a regional cybersecurity consortium.

This follows a $1.12-million award from the DoD in 2020 that the University used to establish the Metro Detroit Regional Virtual Vehicle Cybersecurity Institute. The institute is a self-sustaining, regional, virtual cybersecurity workforce development entity formed through partnerships between academia, the vehicle manufacturing industry, and the DoD to address the shortfall of trained vehicle cybersecurity engineers and computer scientists to meet the needs of the military ground vehicle and transportation communities.

Led by Detroit Mercy, the consortium consists of multiple academic institutions in southeast Michigan and includes the University of Arizona as a research partner. It is designed to expand and enhance the cybersecurity engineering workforce through an online applied curriculum developed in consultation with industry partners.

The award is provided through the Virtual Institutes for Cyber and Electromagnetic Spectrum Research and Employ (VICEROY) program, which is managed by the Griffiss Institute, a 501(c)(3) organization, in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The VICEROY program is sponsored and led by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. VICEROY augments traditional college curricula by providing hands-on, mission-focused experiential learning and internship opportunities that are tailored to match the workforce demands of the Armed Services, DoD, and the Defense Industrial Base.

The extension of the award was based on Detroit Mercy's performance and outcomes including launching an online graduate certificate in Vehicle Cyber Engineering (VCE) that stacks to a Master of Science in Vehicle Cyber Engineering and establishing a hands-on VCE lab with Digital Twin Virtual Labs developed in partnership with the University of Arizona. 

The Metro Detroit Regional Vehicle Cybersecurity Institute includes Detroit Mercy, pipeline institutions Washtenaw Community College, Oakland Community College, Macomb Community College and University of Arizona, which will provide research support to the consortium through its research institute established in 2020. 

UDM led the awarding and reached students from the entire Metro Detroit Regional Virtual Vehicle Cybersecurity Institute. Awarding $70,000 for incoming students in fall 2023, with the total two-year award of $150,000 issued to 17 students at the undergraduate and graduate level programs.  

For more, please visit https://eng-sci.udmercy.edu/index.php. 

SOURCE University of Detroit Mercy