The Department of Intelligence and Security Studies at Coastal Carolina University will hold its third annual Intel Day on Saturday, April 6. Sponsored by the Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts and held in the Edwards College Building, the all-day event is designed to provide both current and prospective intelligence and security studies majors an opportunity to learn more about the field and to network with CCU alumni and industry professionals.

“Each Intel Day, we bring speakers to directly recruit among the student body for government and private sector companies,” said Joseph Fitsanakis, CCU professor of intelligence and security studies. “We also bring people who have extensive experience in this field. Some are longtime practitioners, and some are alumni who are now doing this type of work and wish to mentor and connect with current students.”

Speakers have experience working for federal agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and National Security Agency (NSA), as well as state and private sector intelligence agencies and organizations.

“Every year, we have some students who leave the conference with an interview, others with a conditional employment offer, and others who have contact information of senior officials who can provide mentoring and coaching on the interview and application processes,” said Fitsanakis.

Two hundred tickets to the conference are made available to students. Nearly 20 CCU intelligence and security studies majors will participate in the conference as student assistants. They will introduce speakers, moderate panel discussions, and escort speakers through the Edwards College facilities.

Intel Day 2024 doubles as an official launch of the Center for Applied Intelligence (CAI), an experiential center that fosters dynamic connections between the study of intelligence and its practical application in government and industry.

The CAI will house the following existing initiatives:

• Applied Intelligence Project, which enables students to work for a semester with U.S. federal intelligence and security agencies.

• Chanticleer Intelligence Brief (CIB), an on-campus practicum that allows students to cultivate and refine their ability to gather, analyze, and present information in accordance with intelligence industry practices.

• Coastal Law Enforcement Analysis and Research (CLEAR), an activity that allows students to provide direct intelligence support to local and regional law enforcement organizations.

• Intelligence Operations Command Center (IOCC), an instructional and collaborative workspace equipped with state-of-the-art information technologies.

• Women in Intelligence and National Security (WINS), the first student-led organization of its kind in the country, which seeks to enhance diversity and inclusion in the intelligence field.

For more information on Intel Day or the CAI, contact Fitsanakis at jfitsanak@coastal.edu or 843-349-6618.