Technology has undoubtedly changed the world as we know it– more so in recent years especially in the dissemination of information.
With the impact of the internet and technology as a whole on the global population, it doesn’t come as a surprise to know that governments are seeking the aid of the brightest minds of the digital generation to serve their respective countries.
In the US, the Biden administration will recruit and train people to serve in digital positions within the federal government and address issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic and cybersecurity concerns, in a program to be known as the U.S. Digital Corps.
The U.S. Digital Corps, which will launch later this year, is looking for 30 initial applicants for its two-year fellowship program.
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The program’s key goal is to recruit professionals to work on “a wide array of government priorities that require technological expertise, including the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, economic recovery, and ongoing major cybersecurity incidents.”
The Digital Corps is partnering with the GSA, the White House Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
It could be expected that those recruited into the program would be given opportunities to work in the abovementioned departments, or in the General Services Administration (GSA), the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The main technological issues grappled by governments right now are of course the information dissemination on the COVID-19 pandemic, and also cybersecurity.
Cybersecurity was a key topic during an exchange at the White House which included President Biden, as well as the heads of tech giants such as Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon.
Biden cites threats from cybercriminal groups in the past years and noted the lack of cybersecurity experts working in the government.
“That is a challenge, but it also is a real opportunity.” says the president.
The US Digital Corps aims to fill these gaps by launching a technologically gifted group of people to help in navigating through current issues.
