New Vanderbilt center aims to give national security students a chance to work in unexpected government agencies

NASHVILLETenn. — Vanderbilt University students hoping to land prestigious internships in intelligence, defense or public safety in Washington, D.C., may soon find themselves working for a government agency not as an obvious part of their national security mission.

That’s the hope of Gen. Paul Nakasone, who is leading an effort to make that vision a reality at Vanderbilt University’s newly formed National Security Institute. Nakasone has spent the latter years of his decades-long career in encryption and signals intelligence, but he said the threats facing society have taken on new forms.

“We often think only about the military aspect of our national power, but there is also a diplomatic, informational and economic element to it,” he noted.

The Commerce Department, for example, has been closely monitoring semiconductor supply chains as officials work to shift domestic chip production and bolster U.S. military capabilities.

“Why not do an internship — someone from Vanderbilt — at the Department of Commerce? It’s hard to believe there’s a more important place right now in terms of semiconductors than the Department of Commerce,” he said.

He also offered a student internship at the State Department’s Office of Cyber ​​and Digital Policy. While the State Department has a separate intelligence office, its cyber service has focused more on shaping international norms for internet governance and managing emerging technology issues like AI and quantum computing.

Nakasone, who retired from his position as head of the NSA and U.S. Cyber ​​Command in February, spoke to reporters at a news conference ahead of the inauguration of the Vanderbilt institute, where he is to head a program aimed at attracting young talent to national security roles.

These less-anticipated positions than those at DOD, CIA and other parts of the defense and intelligence community allow students to develop more diverse critical-thinking skills to solve global security problems, he said. The institute is setting a “25 by 2025” goal to place 25 Vanderbilt interns in a variety of government national security positions next year.

The center will be housed in the university’s engineering school but plans to bring together students from a variety of disciplines, including engineering, medicine, education, business, law and the humanities, according to a university press release. The center builds on Vanderbilt’s annual Summit on Contemporary Conflict and Emerging Threats, which brings together representatives from the military and intelligence communities to discuss the state of the global threat landscape.

Officials have frequently warned of a peak in global threats in 2024, citing Chinese hackers infiltrating critical U.S. infrastructure and increased U.S. military spending in congressional bills. Increased participation in elections around the world has further fueled fears, and AI-powered disinformation is playing a key role in this space.

Policymakers are trying to address this problem by focusing on workforce issues related to cybersecurity and national security, opening up opportunities for young Americans to enter the job market in educational institutions.

“Gen Z is going to be the number one sector of our workforce. Okay, that’s great. But it also requires knowledge, skills and abilities that have just been lost to us — whether it’s baby boomers like me or millennials — you have to be able to pass that information on,” Nakasone said earlier this year at the DEF CON hacker conference in Las Vegas.