MSU Awarded Amazon Charitable Gift for Cyber Security

Mississippi State has earned a grant from Amazon to support diversity in the university's Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

The grant will help promote undergraduate diversity in cyber security through The Amazon Cyber Security Scholarship and the Amazon Security Support Fund.

Shahram Rahimi, the computer science and engineering department head, is excited for the opportunities the two funds will offer Bagley College of Engineering students.

“This is a testament of our achievements in the area of cyber security research and education and our interest in recruiting and increasing the enrollment of minorities and women at Mississippi State University,” Rahimi said.

The Amazon Cyber Security Scholarship is designed to help computer science and engineering minority students with funding for cyber security educational opportunities. Criteria for the scholarship can be found here.

The Amazon Cyber Security Support Fund will help enhance diversity in computer science and software engineering. The funding will be used for, but not limited to, hands on experience in cyber security, conference attendance, support for minority student societies focused on advancement in STEM and to provide outreach to students interested in cyber security.

Jason Keith, dean of the Bagley College of Engineering, recognizes the importance of expanding the cyber security program, in particular with minority students.

“If you look across all of the departments in the college, there’s a lower percent of female and other diverse students inside of computer science and engineering,” Keith said. “This gift will help us recruit, teach, and retain more students in this really important area."

The Department of Computer Science and Engineering hopes to continue expanding cyber security, the newest undergraduate degree program, with the support of Amazon.

“This gift from Amazon is intended to allow us to expand the diversity of that program, which will also make our college and institution more diverse,” Keith said.

The Bagley College of Engineering is online at www.bagley.msstate.edu and can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube at @msuengineering.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.

By Emily Cambre