Champlain College and University of Applied Sciences Mittweida Collaborate on Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics Ideas

Each year, students from Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont travel to Germany to intern with the Munich Cyber Security Program (MCSP), run by ComCode, a German securities consultancy. The 2021 internship turned virtual due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and continued to be a highly enriching, hands-on learning experience for students.

To wrap up this year’s internship, the Germany-based University of Applied Sciences Mittweida joined for a virtual session to share ideas around cybersecurity and digital forensics. Like Champlain, the German university’s curriculum is career- and industry-focused. This like-minded quality allowed for rich discussion about cybersecurity and digital forensics in both a professional and higher education context. Representatives from Mittweida presented their practical approach to teaching these topics to students and provided insights into some of their programs and initiatives that make them a leading university in Germany. When future Champlain interns head to Germany, they will see this firsthand.

During this virtual session, five 2021 MCSP summer interns from Champlain had the opportunity to present the projects they worked on during their three-month position. The students presented their outstanding work to Mittweida reps, ComCode partners, and Champlain community members from the Champlain College Leahy Center for Digital Forensics and Cybersecurity—the physical location for their internship this summer since traveling to Germany was not an option. Topics of the internships ranged from car security, 3D printing, to state-of-the-art medical device security. These research-based projects gave students an idea of the kinds of challenges leading companies are facing today. Both MCSP and Champlain strive to connect students with companies and projects that prepare them for the job market after college.

“Although COVID-19 may have canceled all of my plans for the past year and a half, it wasn’t able to take away this challenging and rewarding opportunity to explore my major further, and for that, I am very grateful to ComCode for hosting the MCSP, The Leahy Center for hosting us when Germany couldn’t, and to the very nature of technology that allowed this to work out remotely,” says MCSP intern Kaya Overholtzer ‘22 // Digital Forensics & Cybersecurity.

Looking ahead, we hope to offer in-person internships in Germany in summer 2022. For students wanting to stay remotely in the US, virtual internships will be offered as well. Since its start, the MCSP has organized over 20 internships with various Bavarian companies, which has been made possible through a collaborative and fruitful partnership with Champlain College. Future students who intern in-person in Germany will experience trips to the Mittweida campus as well as dedicated workshops.

Champlain students who are interested in applying for the Summer 2022 internship should reach out via the MCSP website. Further blog articles about the student experience and research projects are available here.

Want to learn more about Champlain’s Computer & Digital Forensics major? Click here. Looking to explore our Computer Networking & Cybersecurity major? Click here.