We have been contacted by Dr. David L. Di Maria, Associate Vice Provost for International Education about a unique opportunity. The Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research seeks to conduct and promote high quality research to help inform policymakers in Ras Al Khaimah, the United Arab Emirates, and broader Gulf region. To this end, the Foundation welcomes proposals from scholars in a wide range of disciplines and professional fields that address issues related to its research priority areas of education, health and well-being, and urban development and planning. Grant opportunities fall under the following categories:
The DCCC Internship Program is designed to give substantial exposure to practical campaign style politics on a national level. They are looking to hire a communications intern ASAP for this semester and again for the summer. They especially have a need for a bilingual Spanish speaking intern. Applicants should send over a tailored cover letter and resume at https://recruiting.paylocity.com/recruiting/jobs/Details/235597/DCCC/2020-Summer-Internships
Please remember that this opportunity, and others like it, are also listed on our department's website: https://politicalscience.umbc.edu/student-resources/opportunities-outside-department/IRES PROGRAM ON AUTONOMY IN NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS (for graduate students): Participants will study autonomous mobility in complex natural environments based on flying and gliding rainforest animals with the help of an interdisciplinary mentor network located in Korea, Singapore, and Brunei. Students will get an opportunity throughout the program to participate in professional development opportunities for IRES scholars and their mentors, led by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). The 13-week summer program will start with an orientation week at the Virginia Tech campus followed by a modular sequence of setup with an engineering mentor at either KAIST or the National University of Singapore (NUS), a biology immersion in Borneo at the University of Brunei (UBD), and finally a data analysis/engineering integration module at KAIST. The program will cover all cost and pay a $5000 fellowship to each participant. Participants must be US-citizens/Greencard holders and graduate students. An application package consisting of CV, research statement (1 page), and unofficial transcript should be emailed to rolf.mueller@vt.edu. Two letters of reference should also be emailed directly to this address.
Program Website: https://eng.vt.edu/academics/international-programs/international-research/ires/ires-brunei.html
Program Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBDVTLab
Mohammed is an Information Systems major who will graduate in 2021. He is a member of the Honors College, a McNair Scholar, i3 Scholar, and Mellon Fellow.
Title of your research project: An Unholy Alliance: Christian Identity Extremists and ICTs
Describe your project: This project examines how the Christian Identity Movement (CIM) has infiltrated the larger white extremist digital community, aiming to understand the relationship between white extremists, Christian Identity, technology, and social media.
Who is your mentor(s) for your project? For this summer project, my mentor was Dr. Kathleen Moore from James Madison University. However, building upon the summer project, I am currently partaking in Islamist extremist research on Twitterspace under the mentorship and guidance of Dr. Anupam Joshi from CSEE. I approached Dr. Joshi after developing an interest in online extremism research especially because Dr. Joshi has historically supported students partaking in research and social media analysis.
How did you become interested in this project? Countering extremism remains a charged topic in modern society, but because society's most vulnerable populations (such as youth) are at-risk when it comes to online extremism, it becomes an obligation to devise strategies and develop tools to fight online terrorism at all costs. My research aims to utilize my personal interest and combine it with public advocacy issues in order to create a more equitable and pluralistic society.
What has been the hardest part about your research/what was the most unexpected thing about being a researcher? Beginning is always the hardest part about research. But research in itself, especially when combined with dedicated mentorship, can be very fulfilling when accompanied with a meaningful process.
What has been the most rewarding part? My research is not just theoretical; it is applied as well. I thoroughly enjoy utilizing both my personal experience and skills as a counterterrorism advocate with Quilliam International to have an impactful applied research experience.
How will you disseminate your research My research will be presented at URCAD on April 22. Recently, my research was also selected for poster presentation at iConference in Borås, Sweden and with UMBC and Johns Hopkins' support, I am looking forward to presenting my findings with my i3 research group at the conference!
What is your advice to other students about getting involved in research? Turn to your peers and mentors and apply for any meaningful opportunity. If you have a personal interest in the research project, it will only allow you to be more fully vested in what you want to do. If you are just beginning, there will be many lessons to learn. Don't ever consider yourself as just a researcher, but also a learner for life.
What are your career goals? I hope to continue my studies all the way to obtaining my PhD and serve as a cybersecurity analyst developing social media moderating tools to counter extremists of all stripes, whether it is far-left, far-right, or religious extremism.
Applications for 2020 are now open! Click here to apply!
The Association of Old Crows (AOC) Educational Foundation (AEF) will be providing two scholarships to students currently in their sophomore or junior year of college.
THE AOC STEM STUDENT OF THE YEAR: Each $12,500 scholarship will be awarded in May 2020 to one male and one female student studying in the fields of engineering or engineering technology and interested in working in the Aerospace and Defense Industry. These scholarships are funded by a generous $25,000 donation from Raytheon Company.
The scholarship program is administered by the AOC Educational Foundation, a 501(c)3 education foundation.
If you have any questions or need additional information regarding the application process, please do not hesitate to contact:
| Brian Hinkley | Glorianne O'Neilin |
| Chair, Scholarship Committee | Director of Membership Operations |
| AOC Education Foundation | Association of Old Crows |
| brian.hinkley@aecom.com | oneilin@crows.org |
Students are selected by an independent organization not affiliated with the AOC or the AEF. The selected student names, degree program, expected graduation year, essay and nominations (if any) will be presented to the AEF Scholarship Committee for routine confirmation of the selection process. No financial information is requested.