Students Can Win Up to $125,000 for Cybersecurity Research or Commercialization

Posted September 13, 2017

All students are invited to compete in the Institute for Information Security & Privacy’s Cybersecurity Demo Day — newly expanded for 2017 - 2018 to offer up to $125,000 in prizes.
 
“The Institute for Information Security & Privacy wants to move good ideas to market,” says Wenke Lee, co-director and the John P. Imlay Chair of Software for the School of Computer Science. “We know industry leans on academic researchers to raise new ideas and we lean on industry to take solutions to the public. Our hope is that by introducing students to business mentors early in the research timeline that we can help them naturally build productive relationships and reduce time to market. All students participating in Demo Day will benefit from the insight and critique of those closest to industry needs today.”

Both students who want additional funding for their research or students who want to commercialize an idea should enter, he says.
 
The contest begins with a display of student research posters on Sept. 27 at the Georgia Tech Cyber Security Summit (GTCSS), when 400 members of the public are invited to browse student research and vote for their favorite projects. From there, all students can continue to compete between October and April for additional prizes under “Research Track” or “Commercialization Track.”
 
Lee adds that even the initial step of showing a research poster can spark conversations that lead to new resources.
 
“Often our researchers need real-world data from companies or agencies to test, code to exchange, or validation or input for their project from frontline information security researchers,” he says. “Showing a research poster at GTCSS helps the public see what we’re working on, contribute, or license the outcome.”  
 
Ways to Win
Students should register their project by Sept. 20.

1. Any student can win $500 just by showing a research poster at GTCSS on Sept. 27. Audience vote will choose their three favorite projects to receive $500 each.
2. Undergraduates or graduate students can win $3,000 toward further research under the “Research Track.”
3. Undergraduates or graduate students can win $5,000 toward commercialization under the “Commercialization Track.”
4. Undergraduate and graduate students can win automatic admission into Create-X Startup LAUNCH. This provides $20,000 toward a prototype, $50,000 in free legal services, and 27 weeks of business coaching to help launch a startup.
5. Graduate students also can gain eligibility for a $50,000 grant from the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps by showing a research poster and then attending six, entrepreneurial coaching sessions between October and April with VentureLab. Students return to present in April 2018 at the Demo Day Finale for the NSF grant and other prizes.

 
Graduate students who wish to commercialize their project can win any combination of #3, #4, and #5 or potentially all three prizes. Undergraduates should form a team with at least one graduate student to qualify for the maximum number of prizes.
 
For complete details, eligibility rules, and to enter, visit http://cyber.gatech.edu/cyber-demo-day