WORKFORCE
in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), but also public policy, business administration, finance, political science and more.
The Acquisition Innovation Research Center (AIRC), part of a university-affili- ated research center housed at the Stevens Institute of Technology, selected the four pilot universities from within its consor- tium of university partners. Karen D. Tornton, a research fellow at AIRC, said that during the DCTC pilot, the AIRC team will evaluate how the curriculum might be scaled to include more public land-grant universities, historically Black colleges and universities, senior military colleges and minority-serving institutions.
LAB WORK
DAU does not have an avenue to apply the knowledge in practice on the job, where the real learning happens.
“[Te four schools] are phenomenal part- ners and really going the extra mile to help us test our model,” Tornton said. “Each is very well situated with a vibrant ROTC program and existing DOD research grants. Some already have DOD presence on campus and organizations nearby from which we can bring in expertise to provide students with immersive experiences.”
Virginia Tech had the largest number of applicants for the DCTC pilot program,
Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen H. Hicks visits the Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories in August 2022 at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Zucrow Labs is the largest academic propulsion lab in the world. (Photo by Lisa Ferdinando, Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs)
117 in just two weeks. DCTC was a natural partnership, according to Laura Freeman, Ph.D., deputy director of the Virginia Tech National Security Institute and research professor of statistics, who expressed students’ strong excitement to be a part of history in the development of the DCTC program. “Many have mili- tary service in their families, so they knew they wanted to go DOD,” Freeman said, “but many do not know you can serve as a civilian, too.” Virginia Tech is one of six senior military colleges in the U.S. with a robust ROTC military college.
“College-for-service does great things for diversity,” she said. “The thing I am excited about is the exposure of our students to interesting careers, exposing our students to a wide breadth of interest- ing pathways in the DOD is the hallmark of the program.”
Te scholarship-for-service model will begin with Cohort 1 in 2024. DCTC’s Cohort 0 is the true experimental pilot group with no service obligation following graduation, though the hope is that grad- uates will accept and stay in the federal service positions they are offered. Students in Cohort 0 will play an active role provid- ing feedback about the pilot program and building marketing and recruiting mate- rials for Cohort 1 and beyond.
“We must constantly evaluate how our minimally viable product is being received by the end user,” Tornton said. “Look- ing to our DOD organizations to help us identify critical skills, student feed- back, looking to internship supervisors and mentors, asking how are we doing. Are these students accelerated in acqui- sition systems?” Te goal, she added, is that graduates will come to the Defense
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