In an effort to encourage participation by underrepresented students in APPAM and its activities, the Policy Council and APPAM's Diversity Committee created the APPAM Equity & Inclusion Fellowship in 2016. Now, we are expanding the Equity & Inclusion Fellowship Program to include undergraduate students. We hope to introduce the field of public policy to undergraduates, who might not otherwise be familiar with it, as well as increase the pipeline of diverse students into APPAM institutional member graduate public policy and public affairs schools.

APPLY HERE 

Eligibility

Undergraduate students enrolled at an institution of higher education within an APPAM Institutional Member School. Unsure if your school is an Institutional Member? Check here.

The nominee must be an undergraduate student at the time of the conference.

Students that received their bachelors degree prior to the 2022 APPAM Fall Conference are not eligible to apply.

Must be able to attend the 2022 APPAM Conference, November 17-19, in Washington, D.C. in-person.

Applicants must be must be underrepresented minorities and/or individuals whose background or life circumstances indicate they have overcome substantial obstacles (e.g., disabled individuals, racial or ethnic minorities, LGBTQI individuals, etc) as indicated in the demographic information section of the application.

All Equity and Inclusion Fellows Receive:

 2022 APPAM Fall Research Conference Registration Fee

Complimentary one year APPAM membership

A scholarship in the amount of $599 to offset costs of transportation (air and ground) as well as meals during the conference

Two nights' accommodation at the Washington Hilton (November 17 - 19, 2022)

A meet and greet celebration luncheon for 2022 APPAM Fellowship recipients fellows featuring an exciting keynote speaker (Friday)

A meetup for past and present Fellows (Thursday night)

Mentoring opportunities

Important Dates

• Application Deadline: August 31, 2022
• Recipients Notified: September 2022
• 2022 APPAM Fall Research Conference: November 17 - 19, 2022

APPLY HERE 

In early 2022, Nadja Franklin ‘23 was exploring summer opportunities through the UMBC Career Center when she heard about a chance to connect with tech internships at Maryland’s state agencies. As a business technology administration major, her interest was piqued. She arrived at the on-campus internship event with résumé in hand, ready to discuss her skills, and her preparation and enthusiasm paid off. 

The hiring event was hosted by the Maryland Institute for Innovative Computing (MIIC) to help state agencies expand their technical talent pipeline through intern recruitment. The MIIC is a collaboration between the University System of Maryland and partners in the public and private sectors, launched in 2021. Administered by UMBC, the MIIC addresses workforce challenges related to computing and analytics in state agencies. Students at colleges and universities across Maryland are eligible to apply for internships through the MIIC, connecting skilled students with state employers seeking fresh tech talent.

Talent meets opportunity

The MIIC is continuously growing the pipeline of tech talent ready to support state agencies in the longer term, helping them run securely and efficiently. So far, in 2022, they’ve connected nearly 40 interns with opportunities at state agencies across Maryland, including the Department of Labor, Department of Information Technology, Department of Health, Department of Transportation and the Chief Data Office within the Governor’s Office.

“The MIIC reflects Maryland’s dedication to ensuring our state agencies have the technical staffing and internal infrastructure they need,” explains Annie Weinschenk, program director of workforce initiatives in the UMBC Career Center. 

“With cyber crime on the rise, including attacks on government agencies, MIIC is helping to build a skilled workforce dedicated to service within the state of Maryland,” Weinschenk says. “MIIC internship areas range from data science, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence, to geographic information systems at seven agencies across Maryland.”

Prepared to succeed

Franklin is a T-SITE Scholar in UMBC’s Center for Women in Technology who transferred to UMBC from the Community College of Baltimore County. At the MIIC event, she connected with the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) about projects that would draw on her interests and experience, and she realized the opportunity could be a great match.

Afterward, she quickly completed her application for a project management internship in MDOT’s information technology department. She also accessed other Career Center resources to help her stand out as a top candidate, including interview prep with Weinschenk and Career Center Director Christine Routzahn.

“Students come to their internship experiences with a variety of backgrounds, levels of experience, and majors,” says Weinschenk. “We work to make sure they put their best foot forward, so they can access these unique hands-on learning opportunities.” 

Meaningful connections

Franklin’s primary project with MDOT involves radio frequency identification (RFID), tagging IT and non-IT assets for use in various projects across the agency. But she has particularly enjoyed the chance to meet with MDOT’s chief information officer and deputy chief information officer. She’s also had a chance to learn about the broad range of projects across MDOT, and how project management works, through supporting directors’ meetings. 

Franklin also drew on her writing skills and creativity to help develop scripts for MDOT training videos, and she enjoyed a unique chance to participate in the video filming and production process. 

Beyond learning new skills, her favorite aspect of the internship has been MDOT’s inclusive, welcoming environment.

K-12 and higher ed partnerships

While Franklin came to UMBC interested in a career in tech, that’s not the case for many students who have the talent and skills to succeed in tech fields. With this in mind, the MIIC has also focused on expanding K-12 initiatives, to help prepare students earlier on for these high-demand careers, particularly in cybersecurity.

Earlier this year, Governor Larry Hogan announced the launch of the Maryland Cyber Range for Elevating Workforce and Education, operated by the MIIC. This $1.2 million initiative will expand cybersecurity education and training through collaboration with the Maryland Center for Computing Education (MCCE), Virginia Tech U.S. Cyber Range, and the nonprofit Teach Cyber.

This partnership will include initiatives at all educational levels, from K-12 through higher education and workforce training. The U.S. Cyber Range will provide access to a high quality simulated environment for teachers and students to learn cybersecurity. 

Overall, this collaborative effort will enable Maryland to continue to grow and strengthen the state’s cybersecurity education infrastructure, explains Jack Suess, UMBC’s vice president of information technology and chief technology officer. 

Innovating cybersecurity education 

A leader in cybersecurity education, UMBC is also advancing the field in other ways, complementing the work of the MIIC. For example, Alan T. Sherman, professor of computer science, recently received more than $260,000 of a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study and improve how cybersecurity is taught at the U.S. Naval Academy and U.S. Military Academy. 

The project, Examining Pedagogy in Cybersecurity (EPIC), is collaborative with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and University of Minnesota Duluth, and is funded through NSF’s Secure and Trustworthy Computing (SaTC) program. Because the academies teach cybersecurity to all first-year students, EPIC offers a large-scale opportunity to investigate how simulation-based teaching and learning affects different student populations.

In the first phase of the research, Sherman and his collaborators—including computer science Ph.D. student Andew Slack and Linda Oliva, assistant professor of education—will study how instructors at the academies structure and teach their cybersecurity courses. In the second phase, they will introduce active simulation-based learning exercises and pedagogies and assess their effectiveness. 

UMBC’s championship-winning Cyberdawgs cyberdefense team will help adapt and improve learning materials. As one quantitative measure of the new pedagogy’s effectiveness, EPIC will assess students’ conceptual understanding using the Cybersecurity Concept Inventory (CCI), developed by Sherman and his team. 

Benefits for Maryland

MIIC initiatives continue to expand in new directions. In research, The Hilltop Institute at UMBC is receiving funding to bring together health data related to opioid addiction from different state sources to more accurately identify patients’ risks for relapse. Like the MIIC’s educational initiatives, this work demonstrates how innovations in computing can benefit Maryland and its residents.

ABOUT

This closes on 8/10/22 and it is on HandShake (with colleges) and USA Jobs: 

https://www.usajobs.gov/job/666930100

• Eager to award contracts that touch the lives of over 28 million beneficiaries and 15 million health insurance marketplace enrollees! 
• Seeking college juniors, seniors, and grad students – any major may apply.
• The ideal candidate enjoys writing, researching, and problem-solving and possesses excellent attention to detail and communication skills.
• This internship may be extended for up to 2 years – allowing for flexible schedule options that can change by semester.
• After graduation, the intern may be offered a permanent position with excellent growth opportunities.

What is a Contract Specialist?

In a nutshell

Contract Specialists are responsible for writing, negotiating, awarding, and monitoring contracts between CMS and external contractors. The Contract Specialist position encompasses the administration of contracts for services, materials, and equipment associated with health administration, health research, regulatory compliance, human services administration, test evaluation, health operations, and or production activities of one or more HHS organizations. They interpret and comply with Federal laws and regulations, but use their creativity and innovation to develop flexible contracting approaches to assist some of the most vulnerable populations. 

Here's more

Contract Specialists complete trainings that can earn them 3 different levels of Certification in Federal Contracting. National Contract Management Association (NCMA) also provides industry-standard certifications in contracting.  

Informational videos about the contract specialist career field entitled “Government Contracting at CMS” (22.4 min) and “Contracting 101” Video (6.5 min) can be found on our careers homepage/YouTube playlist:

Careers playlist on YouTube

Production Associate/Associate Producer

National news analysis program in the DC area is seeking a talented and motivated a TV Production Associate for our small and dynamic staff. Work part-time (almost exclusively from home) to produce national TV show on women's rights and diverse communities. We do panel programs and in-depth one on one interviews. Shows include experts discussing the blazing issues of the day: women and work, women and politics, LGBTQQI rights, transgender kids & disability rights 

We cover national politics, cultural trends, and Hollywood along with all the hot issues. 20 hrs/week. $20/hr or a bit more with experience. Please send your resume to csproduce22@gmail.com.