UAA GenCyber Academy
2024 Application Now Open
The application for the 2024 UAA GenCyber Academy is now open. Apply online before the deadline on Friday, March 22nd, 2024.
About the GenCyber Academy
The University of Alaska Anchorage GenCyber Academy is a free, one-week summer camp for Alaska high school students. The Academy strives to provide a broad educational background for high school students who are interested in pursuing cybersecurity as a career, with a focus on cybersecurity principles such as defining risks and understanding threat models; confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA); access structures; programming languages; databases, SQL, and steganography; and ethical considerations.
Participants will learn:
- How to think like an attacker and be an ethical hacker
- About essential security technologies and technique
- How to build secure systems
- And about cybersecurity career pathways
All current high school students in Alaska are welcome to apply, though preference will be given to:
- Students who speak Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Farsi, Arabic, or Korean
- Students who would become first-generation college students if they choose to attend college after high school
- Students who qualify for the National School Lunch Program
- And students who have previous computer science or cybersecurity experience
Our goal is to inspire the next generation of cybersecurity professionals who will help to protect Alaska’s citizens and infrastructure. Our state is home to large military, government, and resource extraction sectors that require additional cybersecurity expertise. Alaska is also the only state in the nation with access to the Arctic, an increasingly important geopolitical sphere, and recent global events have reminded us that we must always be prepared.
For these reasons, we want participants who are committed to bettering themselves and their community. We want participants who will work hard to gain the knowledge and skills they need to make Alaska a safer place.
Important Dates
- March 22, 2024
Application Deadline - April 5, 2024
Announce application results - April 27, May 4, May 11, & May 18, 2024
Pre-Camp Events - June 17-21, 2024
Summer Camp
Contact Us
You can reach the program director, Joe Selmont, at uaa_gencyber@alaska.edu.Sign up for the STEM outreach email list to stay up to date about all STEM programming for K-12 students offered by the UAA College of Engineering.
Do you have what it takes to join the next generation of cybersecurity professionals?
The UAA GenCyber Academy is funded by a grant from the National Security Agency (NSA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) through the national GenCyber program, which strives to be a part of the solution to the nation’s shortfall of skilled cybersecurity professionals. Ensuring that enough young people are inspired to utilize their talents in cybersecurity is critical to the future of our country’s national and economic security as we become even more reliant on cyber-based technology in every aspect of our daily lives.
Schedule
The UAA GenCyber Academy will be held during June 17 to 21, with additional pre-camp events in April and May. Participants must commit to attending all parts of the program in person, which will be hosted at UAA's campus in Anchorage.
Pre-Camp Events
Saturday, April 27, 10 am - 1:30 pm
Saturday, May 4, 10 am - 1:30 pm
Saturday, May 11, 10 am - 1:30 pm
Saturday, May 18, 10 am - 1:30 pm
Summer Camp
Monday to Friday, June 17-21, 9 am - 4 pm
Frequently Asked Questions
- What does the camp cost?The UAA GenCyber Academy is free.
- Who can participate? Any current high school students in Alaska.
- Do participants need prior coding or computer science experience? Prior experience is not required, though it is preferred.
- Do participants need to speak Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Farsi, Arabic, or Korean?No, though it is preferred.
- What language will the camp be taught in? The camp will be taught in English.
- Where will the camp be held? All meetings will be held at UAA’s campus in Anchorage. Additional details, including building and room number, will be provided for admitted participants.
- Are housing and transportation provided for participants? Housing and transportation are NOT provided. Participants must be able to commute to UAA’s campus for all meetings.
- Is lunch provided?Yes, lunch is provided at no cost. We will gather allergy information and other dietary restrictions at the time of registration.
- How many students can participate? There is room for up to 30 students.
- What if an applicant doesn’t get in? We will maintain a waitlist, and reach out to families on the waitlist if any admitted participants drop out of the program.
- Why are the NSA and NSF funding this camp? The supply of cybersecurity professionals has fallen far short of demand, with some studies estimating the gap being as large as 600,000 professionals needed to meet the nation’s demand. The NSA and NSF are funding GenCyber camps all across the country to help turn that around. The UAA GenCyber Academy is currently the only GenCyber program in Alaska.
Sponsors
The program is supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Security Agency, and GenCyber.
