NICE RAMPS Grant 

Cin-Day Cyber Corridor Final Report

October 1, 2016 – December 31, 2017

 

Created by:

Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education

3155 Research Blvd, Suite 204

Dayton, OH 45420

p: (937) 258-8890
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Table of Contents 

Overview.......................................................................................................................................................3

Accomplishments.........................................................................................................................................4

Highlights......................................................................................................................................................8

Conclusion & Going Forward .....................................................................................................................10
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OVERVIEW

The Cincinnati-Dayton Cyber Corridor (Cin-Day Cyber): A Regional Consortia Approach to 

Cybersecurity Education and Workforce Readiness was formed by the Southwestern Ohio 

Council for Higher Education (SOCHE) in cooperation with Air Force Institute of Technology, 

Dayton Development Coalition, University of Cincinnati, University of Dayton, and Wright State 

University). The initiative expanded to include numerous other higher education, K-12, and 

industry partners to address cyber education and workforce development, based upon the 

need across the region.

In October 2016, Cin-Day Cyber was awarded the Regional Alliances and Multistakeholder

Partnerships to Stimulate (RAMPS) Cybersecurity Education and Workforce Development grant 

to support a series of “proof of concept” projects. Cin-Day Cyber piloted and assessed the 

projects as the primary thrust of the RAMPS funding with the goals of: 1) determining which 

projects would produce benefits to growing the cyber workforce; and 2: identify effective 

initiatives for long-term “full scale” implementation across the region.

The project design included three strategic phases:

I. Robust data collection on regional cybersecurity workforce needs:

a. Cybersecurity workforce market needs and opportunities analysis aligned with NICE 

Framework and cybersecurity jobs heat map

b. Cybersecurity regional educational program inventory and gap analysis

c. Cybersecurity regional expertise and research inventory

d. Cybersecurity policy analysis 

II. Collaboration among Higher Education Industry, K-12 and Regional Economic 

Development Agencies to broadly address cybersecurity education and workforce 

development:

a. Higher Education cybersecurity academic roundtable

b. Cybersecurity industry regional roundtable and research to workplace briefings

c. Cybersecurity internship fairs and employment outreach

d. NICE conference participation

III. Industry and higher education supported cybersecurity career awareness and skills 

development for underserved populations in K-12 schools:

a. K-12/CAE/Industry collaboration on career awareness and skills development
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b. CyberPatriot mentorship and related extracurricular programs 

These initiatives specifically addressed four overall beneficial outcomes. First, higher education 

identified and addressed the skills needed in industry, as colleges and universities develop

academic pathways to increase the pipeline of students pursuing cybersecurity careers. The 

second benefit of these initiatives is for employers to benefit from an increased supply of skilled 

cybersecurity workers and an educational system aligned to their needs. Third, state and local 

economic development organizations, working with area businesses and nonprofit 

organizations, will benefit by attracting new industries to their region to create more jobs. 

Lastly, K-12 institutions engage students in active learning practices that build career awareness 

around the opportunities offered by the cybersecurity professions. 

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Each strategic phase was broken into project classifications to meet the goals and objectives set 

forth in the RAMPS Grant proposal. Below are the activities Cin-Day Cyber performed with 

funding from the NICE RAMPS Grant.

• Activities in Multiple Domains

o Conducted regular status meetings to ensure grant initiatives were on schedule

and within budget and mission, identify risks, and analyze the successes and 

challenges of each initiative to determine future vitality and to define a postgrant path for Cin-Day Cyber.

o Launched website for Cin-Day Cyber http://cindaycyber.com/ to provide a 

central location to communicate upcoming cyber events, cyber education, cyber 

workforce, etc.
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o Wrote articles for Department of Homeland Security’s National Cyber Security 

Awareness Month and NICE eNewsletter.

o Launched new SOCHE website which links to Cin-Day Cyber, Degree Finder, and 

Workforce Development websites.

• Cyber Workforce Market Needs, Opportunities, and Expertise

o Conducted Cyber Demand & Gap Analysis and created Expertise & Research 

Inventories. The findings were communicated to industry and higher ed 

communities during roundtable discussions which helped stimulate partnerships

between communities to meet market specific cyber workforce needs.

o Created Degree Finder to quickly discover degrees and certifications offered by

Southwest Ohio colleges and universities which highlights future workforce for 

employers.

o Collaborated with Ohio Cyber Collaboration Committee (OC3) to help promote 

cyber awareness and develop a strong cyber security infrastructure across Ohio.

o Secured funding for Cyber Range that is available for all institutions and industry 

to use for teaching students and allowing industry a safe environment for testing 

their network security.

• Higher Ed Activities

o Partnered with Air Force Institute of Technology to host SOCHE STEM-Cyber 

Research Fair to bring industry together with students as they presented their 

research findings.

o Supported University of Cincinnati students in creating lesson plans for teaching 

functional programming concepts to 2nd graders.

o Supported University of Dayton presenting at Northern Kentucky University’s

Cybersecurity Symposium – Transforming your user community from IT security 

adversaries to Cyber-Mindful Allies – Strategies, Tactics, and Lessons Learned

o Sponsored 18 students from 6 local institutions (2 - Community Colleges and 4 –

Universities) to attend 2017 NICE Conference.

o Established cross-college collaboration at University of Cincinnati (UC) to help 

incorporate cyber education across colleges.

o Formed partnership in which SOCHE/CinDay Cyber became co-PI with Cedarville 

University for NSA grant for Cybersecurity Core Curricula Development.

o Sponsored Maj Gen Franz, Joint Chiefs of Staff Operations Chief for 

USCYBERCOM to speak at the University of Cincinnati’s Army ROTC 

commissioning and to conduct three professional development sessions with the

graduating cadets, the Cyber Leader Development Program, and CEAS CE/CS and 

Poly Sci cybersecurity students.
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o Provided 3 scholarships to K-12 students who are pursuing computer science and 

cyber security degrees to attend 

local universities and will provide 

mentoring throughout their 

academic careers.

o Promoted University of Dayton

hosting the 11th Annual DayCon 

event, a Hacksec Invitational Packetwars Cyber Challenge that included a

capture-the-flag competition with Cedarville University, Northern Kentucky 

University, University of Cincinnati, University of Dayton, and Wright State 

University.

• Industry/Higher Ed Roundtable

o Hosted Cyber Industry/Higher Ed Roundtables to provide professional 

development, cyber updates at local, state, and federal levels, and encourage 

collaboration.

o Hosted Dayton Region Military Collaborative (DRMC) Cyber Symposium.

o Hosted Higher Education Cyber Roundtable with local CAEs.

o Held Industry Roundtable on the “Value of Interns.” 

• Internships

o Secured 74 cyber-related internships at Air Force Institute of Technology; 24 of 

the positions are filled by females and 7 are self-identified as minority.

o Educated industry partners on the importance of providing internship 

opportunities to develop the future workforce.

• Internship Fairs, Conferences & Employment Outreach

o Held Cyber Mixer to bring industry together with institutional cyber department 

heads and career services so industry would have a better understanding of the 

higher education programming and students in the pipeline.

o Presented at National Cyber Summit about Cin-Day’s RAMPS grant projects to 

educate the cyber community on strategies that can be successfully 

implemented in their communities.

o Co-sponsored Technology First’s Ohio Information Security Conference (OISC) 

o Hosted Cyber track:

• Transforming Your User Community for IT Security Adversaries to 

Cyber-Mindful Allies: Strategies Tactics and Lessons learned from UD’s 

Safe Computing Campaign.

• The Cybersecurity Advisory Board of the Office of the Ohio Attorney 

General Industry experts/business leaders formed by Mike DeWine.
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• Cin-Day Cyber: A Regional Consortia Approach to Cybersecurity 

Education and Workforce Readiness

• Vendor Management – A Cyber Security Perspective.

• Developing the Next Generation of Cyber Talent: Panel Discussion on 

Successful Internships.

o Co-sponsored 10th Annual NKU CyberSecurity Symposium & Internship Fair

o Hosted Internship Fair for cyber and STEM students.

o Hosted an exhibitor booth to promote 

Cin-Day and Degree Finder to the 

southernmost part of region.

o Conducted “Transforming your user 

community from IT security adversaries 

to Cyber-Mindful Allies: Strategies, 

Tactics, and Lessons Learned” session.

o Provided marketing support for event.

o Co-sponsored NICE 2017 Conference & Expo and NICE pre-conference meeting

o Co-sponsored preconference and evening receptions to increase 

community’s awareness Cin-Day.

o Hosted “Preparing Regional Partnerships for Take Off” and “Transforming 

your user community from IT security adversaries to Cyber-Mindful Allies.”

o Presented at Soapbox session and participated in expert panels.

o Sponsored exhibitor booth to promote Cin-Day, regional cyber 

employment opportunities, Degree Finder, and partnerships.

• K-12 Outreach

o Trained high school teachers to become college cybersecurity instructors for firstyear college courses that are taught through Ohio's College Credit Plus program.

o Sponsored Cyber Patriot teams which competed at local, state, and national levels.

o Held Cyber Patriot Camp for 120 K-12 students.

o Conducted Raspberry Pi Camp for 44 7th and 8th graders.

o Provided funding for TestOut Certification Exams:

o TestOut is a nationwide provider of online certification exams. High School 

students who pass the exams earn industry credentials; these credentials 

help students apply for college internships and entry-level IT positions. 

o Sponsored the Dayton Regional STEM School for the National Cybersecurity 

Career Awareness Week Cybersecurity Challenge, achieving fourth place with 89 

participating students.

o Collaborated with a STEM middle school while they created lessons for teaching 

cryptography in the 6th grade.
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o Partnered with Cyber Warrior Princess as they were awarded the Innovation in 

Cybersecurity Education Award by the National CyberWatch Center.

o Dayton Regional STEM School partnered for new IT lab and cybersecurity 

research with Wright State University and Cedarville University.

HIGHLIGHTS

The NICE RAMPS Grant funding allowed Cin-Day Cyber the opportunity to impact many 

student lives and to establish valuable connections with industry. Below highlights a few of

the students that were positively impacted and connections made.

• One of this year’s highlights from the NICE RAMPS Grant funding was being able to 

provide three students that might have studied another field besides cyber/computer 

science with a scholarship to further their education in cybersecurity and computer 

science. This is one of the best ways to assist the workforce pipeline that is experiencing 

a shortage in the cyber realm. Below is a picture taken at the scholarship dinner where 

the three scholarship recipients received their awards. 

From left to right: Bailey Morgan attending University of Cincinnati, Spencer Snider attending University of 

Cincinnati, Matthew Drake attending University of Dayton, and John France from the University of Cincinnati

• Another highpoint during the NICE Ramps Grant period was one of the Dayton Regional 

STEM School’s CyberPatriot teams taking 1st place in the CyberPatriot Competition at 

State Level. The team placed 1st at the platinum level of competition. Getting younger 

generations engaged in the cyber field is crucial to increasing awareness of the cyber 
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field and possible areas of study at the college/university education level. Below is a 

photograph of their CyberPatriot team. 

From left to right: Mr. Slone (CyberPatriot advisor), Connor Weaver, Ryan Lapchynski, Ryan Erno, Marc Ayala, 

Quan Nguyen, and Daniel Ayala. 

• The Cin-Day region had the honor of hosting the 2017 NICE Conference and Expo and 

leveraged the opportunity into co-sponsoring preconference and evening receptions;

presenting conference sessions; participating on expert panels; hosting an exhibitor 

booth to promote Cin-Day Cyber, regional cyber employment opportunities, Degree 

Finder, and partnerships. Cin-Day Cyber funded 18 students to attend the conference,

which provided them a better understanding of cybersecurity career opportunities and 

allowed them to make industry connections.
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From left to right: Cassie Barlow and Diane Cahill from SOCHE representing Cin-Day Cyber at NICE 2017.

Dr. Sean Creighton, SOCHE, leading a panel discussion at the NICE 2017.

CONCLUSION & GOING FORWARD 

The funding received with the NICE RAMPS Grant accelerated the activities/tasks outlined in 

this report, as well as created new synergies between individuals and companies in the region 
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that had not existed previously. The grant drastically enabled a deeper understanding of the 

cyber industry and workforce needs and helped strengthen the alliance among industry, higher 

education, and K-12 in the Cin-Day Cyber Region. The initiative inspired numerous students to 

pursue careers in cyber, established vital connections with industry, enhanced institutional 

collaboration, and provided critical research in cyber for the Cin-Day Region. 

The progress of the Cin-Day Cyber plan during 2017 was abundant and the team was able to 

accomplish a great deal of cyber related tasks and activities to develop and grow cyber in the 

Cin-Day Region. Phase 1: data collection on cybersecurity workforce, Phase 2: collaboration to 

address cybersecurity education and workforce development, and Phase 3: cybersecurity 

career awareness and skills development for underserved populations were all completed. 

The Cin-Day Cyber initiative finished on time and gained valuable knowledge and insight on the 

cybersecurity environment in the region. It has allowed industry, higher education, K-12, and 

economic development partners to come together in one room and discuss the regional plan 

for cyber growth. Further, the initiative provided a regional platform to address cyber areas of 

potential growth, possible solutions to resource challenges, and key approaches moving 

forward while simultaneously keeping the players in the cyber arena working together. 

Going forward, Cin-Day Cyber will continue to support, develop, and enhance cyber education, 

workforce development, and other cyber related activities in the region. The Cin-Day team will 

continue to support many of the items implemented by the RAMPS grant, including: 1) 

providing internships; 2) involvement in cyber conferences/internship fairs; 3) sharing of 

curriculum and professional development; 4) creation of the Cin-Day Cyber website to house 

cyber related information/research/findings; 5) development of curriculum for future 

workforce, and more. The Cin-Day region is excited to continue the growth of many initiatives 

given a jump-start by the grant and will continue to enhance the regional ability to develop the 

workforce in the ever-changing cybersecurity field. 

Finally, the Cin-Day Cyber team would like to thank NICE for their support, feedback, and 

ongoing encouragement. The team looks forward to working with NICE again and wishes them 

all the best on future endeavors.