October News: Career opportunities; START hosts Peace Game

Oct 25, 2021

JOIN OUR TEAM

ICONS Project Director and Senior Researcher – The ICONS Project Director will oversee a staff of simulation and web developers to advance the project’s education, training, and policy research missions. The Director will also serve as a START Senior Researcher and be part of the senior management team providing input on START’s strategic development and day-to-day operations. Applications will be accepted through Monday, October 25, 2021.

Assistant Director of Administrative Services – Responsible for managing aspects of the business services of the Center. This includes payroll activities, human resources, procurement, reimbursements, travel, and sponsored research administration. Applications should be submitted through the University of Maryland eJobs portal, with a closing date of Monday, October 25, 2021.

NEWS

ICONS team hosts Peace Game for U.S. Diplomatic Studies Foundation
Earlier this month, START’s International Communication & Negotiation Simulations Project (ICONS) team hosted the Peace Game with the U.S. Diplomatic Studies Foundation (DSF) at START Headquarters.

START team provides online training on mixed-methods research on preventing and countering violent extremism in Pakistan
This past summer, the START training team produced the course “Novel Approaches to Mixed-Methods P/CVE Research and Practice” in partnership with Creative Learning, Inc., which was taught by START Geospatial Research Unit (GRU) researcher Samuel D. Henkin.

Fulbright scholar comes to START to study deradicalization
START has welcomed Dr. Neil Ferguson, a Fulbright scholar, who will work with the Radicalization and Disengagement (RaD) team on studying deradicalization this semester.

Students excel in START’s online graduate programs
START’s online graduate programs attract both established professionals looking to advance their careers, and early-career professionals eager to enhance their skills and education. Here two such graduate students share their backgrounds and experiences both professionally and academically.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

START Internships
START offers internships year round on a variety of research projects and teams. During the course of their internship, participants are exposed to the most up-to-date theories, methods and information related to the study of terrorism. They are versed in the critical questions tackled by homeland security practitioners, policy makers and researchers, and are mentored in a professional environment geared toward student success. The program is designed to prepare the next generation of homeland security scholars and practitioners through real-world research experience. Apply by November 1, 2021 for best consideration for Spring 2022.

Master of Professional Studies (MPS) degree in Security and Terrorism Studies
Prospective students can now apply for START’s fully online MPS in Security & Terrorism Studies. The program is appropriate for individuals interested in (and/or currently) working in fields related to intelligence analysis, national security analysis, or analysis of other relevant topic areas, and individuals interested in (and/or currently) conducting scholarly research on terrorism and security. Apply by January 7, 2022 for Spring 2022.

Online Winter Courses
START offers fully online summer and winter courses each year which are open to any current degree seeking student or non-degree seeking individual. Current University of Maryland students may register through Testudo. Non-University of Maryland students must apply as non-degree seeking students, visiting students, or students with Golden ID Cardholder Status through the University of Maryland’s Office of Extended Studies. The classes this winter include The Rise of the Islamic State and Social Network Analysis for Terrorism, and will run from January 3-21, 2022.

Global Terrorism Studies Minor Program
START has developed an undergraduate minor in Global Terrorism Studies, a cross-disciplinary program housed in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland. The minor is designed to train the next generation of terrorism analysts, including students who plan to pursue graduate study related to terrorism as well as employment in the federal, state, local, non-profit, and/or private sectors. START accepts applications to the program from University of Maryland undergraduates once per calendar year, during the spring semester. Apply by February 11, 2022 for Fall 2022.

EVENTS

Intersections of Illicit Trafficking and Counterfeit Parts Workshop
10:30 a.m. ET October 28, Online
This workshop, sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and organized by START and the Center of Advanced Life Cycle Engineering (CALCE), seeks to bring together social scientists, engineers, law enforcement, policymakers, and industry to push us out of our comfort zones to build connections and identify gaps. Individual sessions will focus on modalities of trafficking: arms trafficking and construction, wildlife trafficking, labor trafficking, and narcotics manufacturing and trafficking. The conference will end with a convocation meant to sum up the presentations and serve as an opportunity for the wider group to discuss new-found connections and overlapping priorities.

Virtual Information Session: Global Terrorism Studies Minor Program (11/03/21)
6 p.m. ET November 3, Online
START has developed an undergraduate minor in Global Terrorism Studies, a cross-disciplinary program housed in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland. The minor is designed to train the next generation of terrorism analysts, including students who plan to pursue graduate study related to terrorism as well as employment in the federal, state, local, non-profit, and/or private sectors. This will be a virtual information session on Zoom.

Virtual Information Session: MPS in Security & Terrorism Studies (11/9)
6 p.m. ET November 9, Online
The MPS in Security and Terrorism Studies prepares students to examine the complex social, political, economic, and psychological underpinnings of terrorist and other asymmetric security threats. Students are exposed to the theoretical and methodological skills necessary to pursue advanced research opportunities, or be successful in a professional role where analysis and critical thinking are paramount. This will be a virtual information session on Zoom.

Virtual Information Session: Internship Program (11/10/21)

4 p.m. ET November 10, Online
This info session will be led by START’s Experiential Education Specialist, Eva Coll. The first half of the session will discuss how the internship program currently works, what students or recent graduates have to gain from their experience in the program, application requirements, the projects offered within the center that interns will be working on, followed by Q&A. The second half of the session will include a 30-minute session dedicated to resume and cover letter guidance.

Meet the Faculty: MPS in Security & Terrorism Studies (12/6)
12 p.m. ET December 6, Online
Come meet our faculty! On Monday, December 6 at 12:00 p.m. ET, Radicalization and Disengagement (RaD) researcher Dr. Elizabeth Yates will provide a virtual talk on her teaching style, learning objectives and course themes in the classes she teaches for START’s MPS in Security & Terrorism Studies.

START IN THE NEWS

AP News: 'Radicalized' veteran gets time served for anti-police bombs
START researcher Elizabeth Yates is quoted in this article about a man who was convicted of planting anti-police pipe bombs.

Fox News: Extremist groups are recruiting veterans; House lawmakers want to know why and how
This article about extremism in the military uses data produced by the Radicalization and Disengagement (RaD) team.

Pew Research Center: Globally, social hostilities related to religion decline in 2019, while government restrictions remain at highest levels
This article on global religious hostilities uses data from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD).

AP News: French child kidnap plot shows global sway of QAnon style
This article about a QAnon-inspired kidnapping plot uses recent data on QAnon from START’s Radicalization and Disengagement (RaD) team.

Washington Post: U.S. Army investigating after Confederate flag is raised at barracks in Germany
This article about an investigation into an act of extremism in the U.S. Army uses recent data on extremism in the military from START’s Radicalization and Disengagement (RaD) team.

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: How to reduce the risk of a catastrophic spent nuclear fuel fire near the Persian Gulf
This article about nuclear threats in the Persian Gulf uses data from the Nuclear Facilities Attack Database (NuFAD).

The Guardian: The dark side of wellness: the overlap between spiritual thinking and far-right conspiracies
This article about QAnon-inspired conspiracy theories uses recent data on QAnon from START’s Radicalization and Disengagement (RaD) team.

This is a selection of news clips from the past month.

A complete list of START’s media coverage can be found here.

SUPPORTING START

Help Support START Research and Education
The START Consortium is dedicated to generating knowledge of the human causes and consequences of terrorism. Applying rigorous standards to both research and education, START seeks to illuminate one of the most highly politicized and understudied phenomena in the social sciences for students, practitioners and policy-makers. Funded primarily through research grants to date, START is seeking to generate an endowment that will provide the flexibility and autonomy to ensure that it can continue to serve as an objective source of data and empirically based analysis into the future. To donate, or for more information, please click here.