The University of South Florida\u2019s Institute of Applied Engineering has filled more than 850 internships over the past six years while managing roughly $170 million in active contracts with partners including U.S. Special Operations Command and the U.S. Army. The Tampa-based institute is accepting applications for its next group of interns, placing students into defense, cybersecurity and engineering work that can lead straight into full-time jobs and, when the assignment calls for it, security clearances.<\/p>\n
The institute itself is relatively small \u2014 about 45 employees, including 25 engineers \u2014 but its work stretches across artificial intelligence, data systems, cybersecurity and applied research. One of its biggest relationships is with the U.S. Army, which signed a five-year research agreement with USF last year, while other students work directly inside U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe give USF students a direct path so that when they graduate, they not only have experience relevant to the United States Department of Defense, but hands-on DoD experience and a security clearance when necessary,\u201d said Taylor Johnston, president and CEO of the institute. \u201cThey can wear their cap and gown one day and step into a DoD-controlled environment the next \u2014 with a good salary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Recent USF graduate Jean Alvarez took that route through Special Operations Command, starting as a data analytics intern in its financial division before moving into application development. He eventually worked on AI tools and data systems inside SOCOM\u2019s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office, and now works as a data scientist for Clarity, a private contractor supporting the command.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou end up meeting a lot of people from different companies,\u201d Alvarez said. \u201cThat\u2019s kind of how my name got out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Briana Bondurant came through a different side of the program, first landing with Accenture Federal Services after graduating from USF\u2019s Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing. She worked on computer vision and AI projects that analyzed images and video, then moved into the institute\u2019s cyber lab, where she built and tested network environments meant to mimic real-world cybersecurity conditions; she now works full time as an associate analyst with CrowdStrike.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had hands-on experience and the confidence to discuss the technologies,\u201d Bondurant said. \u201cMy work in both places helped me ace my interviews.\u201d<\/p>\n
Current intern Ryan Cartagena is already working inside one of the Army projects covered by that five-year agreement. The third-year electrical engineering student and Air Force ROTC cadet is helping build an experimental training device that teaches soldiers to identify adversaries through electromagnetic signals, giving him experience on both the hardware and coding sides of the system.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been on the hardware side and the coding,\u201d Cartagena said. \u201cThere are a lot of resources and a lot of help \u2014 it\u2019s always there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cristian Hernandez entered the institute with a simpler goal: he wanted to become a software engineer, and he was not yet sure whether defense technology was where he wanted to stay. During his internship, the USF computer science graduate built a full-stack application designed to improve communication among autonomous systems and helped prepare it for a research demonstration; he now works full time as a software engineer in the defense technology industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe internship gave me hands-on experience and showed me how I could apply those skills in the defense sector,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cIt helped prepare me for my current role.\u201d<\/p>\n
U.S. Special Operations Command uses the program on the other side of that equation, pairing students with employees who can pull them into real mission work instead of keeping them on the edge of it. Shanell Blackshear, director of accounting for Special Operations Financial Management at SOCOM, said the internships let students take what they learned in class and use it inside a working federal operation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWatching students connect academic concepts to real-world mission support is incredibly rewarding,\u201d Blackshear said. \u201cThe program helps develop future leaders by providing hands-on experience, professional mentorship and opportunities to build the skills necessary for success in public service.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Johnston, the ideal intern is somebody who can contribute quickly without pretending to know everything on day one. Applications are open now, and he said the institute wants students who bring technical ability, curiosity and enough flexibility to learn how defense organizations actually work once they are inside them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to employ students who can show up on day one with a dedicated, creative, and willing-to-learn mindset,\u201d Johnston said.<\/p>\n
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