S. 5504 — A bill to require the Secretary of Defense to establish a pilot program on Department of Defense partnerships with institutions of higher education recognized in the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity program for Cyber Research, and for other purposes.

This section establishes a pilot program, no later than one year after enactment, under the Defense Cyber Workforce Framework to partner Department of Defense advanced cyberspace operations and information aggressor units with institutions of higher education recognized by the National Security Agency as Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity for research, defense, or operations. The program improves the cyber workforce pipeline, enhances military cyber training through academic collaboration and exercises, leverages scholarships such as the Cyber Service Academy and SMART, and improves student counseling for federal cybersecurity careers. It requires a supporting research cell, an assessment framework with cost-benefit analysis of student participation and network access, curricula review, and student tracking for future employment outcomes, and terminates on September 30, 2031.