What I liked
The school housed all participants in on campus apartments and provided us with a monthly stipend. The first couple of days consisted mostly of orientations and a campus tour to get familiar with the school and the surrounding areas. The remainder of the week was made up of mini-courses on basic research, data analysis, and cybersecurity fundamentals. Since everyone came from different schools with their own curriculum, these courses were designed to get everyone on the same page, which was great.
We were also introduced to our faculty advisor and the research topic we would be working on. The following weeks consisted of research and weekly meetings with our faculty advisor. Meetings typically covered what we understood about some of the research papers we were reading and the basis for our summer project. The faculty mentor was also very helpful and gave us clarification about any topics that we didn't understand.
The remaining weeks consisted of implementing our project, writing a final report, and creating a report summary poster. The last day of the program consisted of presenting our poster to an audience of students and faculty at the university.
Overall it was a great experience. I learned a great deal about cybersecurity and was exposed to concepts that would help me grow as a student and a programmer. I would encourage future students to definitely participate in the NSF-REU program.
