UCF programs make students more competitive with next-gen job skills

By Shane Klestinski, Associate Editor

 

The University of Central Florida’s (UCF) QUICKSTART Consortium received notice recently, that it would be able to proceed with its new proposal to establish a multi-institutional program to develop a STEM workforce pipeline to place promising students in Department of Energy (DOE) and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) careers.

 

“NNSA’s Minority Serving Institution Partnership Program [MSIPP] is advancing education opportunities for underrepresented communities,” says Jill Hruby, former undersecretary for nuclear security and NNSA administrator. “The investment into academic research in STEM education is vital to enable the full talent of our nation to contribute to nuclear security. We are excited about the positive impacts these grants will have on both students and national security.”

 

The QUICKSTART (QUantum Integrated Cyber Knowledge Simulation, Training, Advanced Research and Technology) Consortium is one result of seven federal grants. The consortium seeks to reach underserved students to promote a diverse workforce for the Nuclear Security Enterprise through collaborative access among minority serving institutions and develop graduates in STEM-related areas. More specifically, these areas focus on disciplines such as cybersecurity (behavioral and technical), quantum computing, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and other emerging technologies toward modeling, simulation, digital twins and training for nuclear security.

 

The consortium’s workforce development program, Project QUICKSTART, began in earnest in August 2024. It is a collaborative effort led by UCF’s consortium with Seminole State College, Florida A&M University, and the Y-12 National Security Complex.

 

“This is about broadening the access and opening the aperture for great government jobs at the Y-12 Complex at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, as well as other parts of the DOE for our students,” says David Metcalf, Ph.D., director of UCF’s Mixed Emerging Technologies Integration Lab at the Institute for Simulation & Training (IST). “It’s about training the next generation of job skills through Project QUICKSTART, which involves quantum computing, AI, cybersecurity and simulation. We’re thrilled to have this continuation of our ongoing partnership for the past five years advancing the state of the art in augmented virtual reality, digital twins, and AI-enhanced processes for training and simulation.”

 

The DOE will fund Project QUICKSTART at approximately $5 million over the next five years. Metcalf emphasizes that providing students with early access to real-world projects in cutting-edge disciplines better prepares them for government and support workforce positions, furthers other advanced-education opportunities, and develops other options to apply those job skills broadly.

 

“There is a shortage of next-generation job skills in many parts of the government, including the DOE, that we hope to shore up with our students at UCF [by] putting their talent to work, even while still in school,” Metcalf says. “The MSIPP Project QUICKSTART grant is complementary to the existing five years of work, both direct with DOE and through other vital partnerships.”

 

UCF’s programs offer competitively compensated internships across a variety of disciplines for summer 2025, as well as paid research opportunities throughout the school term. Metcalf explains that “Winterim” opportunities, available during winter breaks, provide short, intensive internships that position UCF students to be more competitive in winning one of the coveted, on-site internships at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

 

“Based on the success and feedback from the DOE on the first ‘Winterim,’ it’s proposed that we will have these ongoing for the next five years,” Metcalf says. “This is part of many awards to meet the needs of the Oak Ridge Enhanced Technology & Training Center, a state-of-the-art training facility that has open access for training, law enforcement and first responders in national nuclear security and response.”