IWP Students Present at the 2026 Intelligence Studies Consortium Conference and Career Fair

The Intelligence Studies Consortium (ISC) held its 6^th annual symposium on 24-25 March at Georgetown University’s Capitol Campus in Washington, DC.  Five IWP students presented the results of their academic research on three of the panels and in the first day’s afternoon poster session.  There were a whopping 600-plus registered attendees and students representing over a dozen schools, and IWP President Chris Glass and the IWP senior staff attended to meet with IWP student presenters. Additionally, IWP interns supported the logistics of the event.

Concurrent to the conference was a career fair expertly organized by Mr. Derrick Dortch, IWP’s Director of Career Services, with over 25 employers represented to include the traditional U.S. Government agencies like U.S. Secret Service, FBI, CIA, DEA, NGA, Army CID; and State Diplomatic Security, among others; private sector companies like the Counterterrorism Group, the Intelligence Training Center, Pfizer Global Security, Ntrepid Corporation, Logistics Management Institute, and Neo4j.  Also participating were think tanks like the Institute for the Study of War and professional organizations like the International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts, the Association of Former Intelligence Officers, the International Association for Intelligence Education, and IWP’s National Security & International Affairs Internship Program.

The career fair also introduced a new, unprecedented afternoon training program featuring five expert-led sessions on career strategy, OSINT & AI, violent extremism, confidence in intelligence analysis, and network analysis.

“IWP’s leadership in organizing this event for students from 17 universities reflects our institution’s central role in shaping intelligence education and our unmatched connections throughout the national security enterprise,” said Mr. Dortch. “We are proud to not only be members of the Intelligence Studies Consortium but leaders in the organization.”

For the first time, the burgeoning conference was held over two days. The theme was “The Intelligence Profession: Future Challenges & Opportunities.” Attending students ranged from undergraduates to doctoral candidates. The conference was co-sponsored by 8 core schools from the DC area: Georgetown University (the host school), IWP, National Intelligence University, Virginia Tech, James Madison University, George Mason University, Marymount University, and Howard University, with several other schools participating for the first time.  Students traveled from as far as California to present papers.

Also for the first time, post-doctoral scholars and faculty members presented on panels, adding to the impressive level of expertise in the conference.  The dozen breakout panels and poster session covered a waterfront of topics, including strategic intelligence, social media, Artificial Intelligence, Public-Private Partnerships and Intelligence Sharing, information warfare, economic statecraft, weapons of mass destruction, emerging technology in intelligence, and violent non-state actors.

Panel Presentations

IWP online certificate student Faith Njoku represented IWP on the Day 1 Panel “Economic Statecraft and Early Warning for National Security.”  Her fascinating topic, “From Local Intelligence to National Strategy: Leveraging Policing Data to Counter CCP Espionage,” was hand-selected by panel moderator and friend of IWP Marilyn Peterson, who also is a board member for the International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts.

Graduate student Carla Renner presented on the topic of the “Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Global Mission, CT Strategy, and Implications for U.S. National Security and Great Power Competition,” for the Day 1 panel titled “China’s Economic and Diplomatic Approach to Great Power Competition.”

On Day 2, graduate student Michelle Davis presented her topic, “Tracking Houthi Maritime Activity to Identify Illicit Behavior Patterns,” for Mr. Aaron Danis’ panel, “New Approaches in Countering Violent Non-State Actors.” She also presented a poster on the topic on Day 1.

Poster Sessions

Day 1 was the busier day of the conference, with morning panels and the afternoon career fair and poster session.  This year, the session featured 35 posters, nearly double that of last year. Poster presentations allow students to spend more time than they would normally have on a panel to speak to individuals and small groups of attendees.  The posters can provide more information using graphics and allow attendees to dwell on topics that interest them.  IWP was well-represented.

“IWP offers a unique education, and it is great to see our students sharing the results of their research at the ISC Symposium. I enjoyed speaking with our students about their posters, and I was impressed by the depth and sophistication of their presentations.”

— Chris Glass, IWP President

A student opportunity like no other

“As in past years, the ISC allows area schools with intelligence programs to pool limited resources and provide a professional event for students to meet each other and present their research,” said IWP Non-Resident Scholar-Practitioner Aaron Danis, who is IWP’s representative to the ISC and has worked on all six conferences to date. “I wish more students would leverage this golden opportunity to show the results of their research, which in turn allows them to build their resumes. Our keynote speakers this year clearly and directly stated the importance of doing more than earning a degree.  Employers want to see extracurricular activities like clubs and conference presentations.”

Dr. Chris Bailey, who coordinates the ISC as a professor at the National Intelligence University, is appreciative for IWP support: “The IWP has been a leading partner in this inter-institutional collaborative effort to organize and conduct an annual student-oriented symposium since the beginning.  I have greatly appreciated IWP support in preparing for and conducting the annual event, including the Career Fair and the poster sessions.  IWP has had some excellent, cutting-edge student submissions.”

Mr. Danis wants to thank Georgetown University for hosting for a second time and providing excellent conference facilities. Mercyhurst University provided quality ISC logo mugs for guest speakers, panelists, and poster presenters. Virginia Tech provided IT support and pulled together the conference website from scratch. Finally, he wants to thank Dr. Chris Bailey of National Intelligence University for his leadership of this event, and for herding cats from many schools to make it the success it is today.