History
The Common Knowledge Scholarship Foundation (CKSF) at Nova Southeastern University was established to create and implement fun, educational, competitive online programs for students of all ages and award scholarships and prizes to students based on what they know. Upon the request of Jeff Green, FBI Miami Community Outreach Specialist, and Special Agent Jim Lewis from the Miami FBI Crimes Against Children Unit, CKSF created a new program to test and increase elementary and middle school students’ knowledge about online safety.
With the help of corporate sponsors, CKSF and the FBI were able to launch the NSU-SOS (Safe Online Surfing) Internet Challenge in 2005. Originally a resource for middle schools in South Florida, the NSU-SOS program grew in popularity and was forwarded to FBI headquarters in Washington D.C. Impressed with the effectiveness and potential reach of the program, the FBI Cyber Division’s Innocent Images National Initiative formally adopted the program in December 2009 and are currently working with the 56 FBI field offices across the country to increase the number of students participating in and benefitting from the program. As an incentive for participants, winning schools are awarded NSU-SOS Trophies and receive congratulatory visits from FBI Agents.
Since the program’s inception in 2005, tens of thousands of middle and elementary school students have completed the NSU-SOS Internet Challenge. The program’s success is attributed to the dedicated teachers, administrators and FBI Community Outreach Specialists who implement and promote the NSU-SOS program in their classrooms and communities.
