MU College of Engineering awarded federal contract

The University of Missouri will soon develop an educational program for federal intelligence workers.

The MU College of Engineering announced Wednesday it was awarded at five-year, $12 million contract by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). It is one of the largest contracts in the school’s history.

“This award from the NGA — one of the largest in the College’s history — highlights the excellence of instruction the College of Engineering faculty provide using cutting-edge technologies that are necessary in a complex and data-driven world,” said Elizabeth Loboa, dean of the College of Engineering.

The college will create a data science program that will provide training for NGA workers and other members of the U.S. Intelligence Community. The program will also focus on “key education and training needs identified by NGA.”

Participants of the program will earn a graduate certificate in data science and a master’s degree from the University of Missouri. MU professors who hold the appropriate security clearances will train employees at NGA locations in Washington D.C., and St. Louis.

“Our faculty are thrilled to be able to support NGA’s effort to equip its workforce with the data science skills necessary for NGA to make sense out of the overwhelming volume of government, commercial, and open-source geospatial information they have to deal with on a day-to-day basis,” said Curt Davis, professor of electrical and computer engineering.

Around 1,800 people from 60 different work roles will take courses in the program.

You can find the university’s release about the contract by clicking here.