CLARKSVILLE, TN – Austin Peay State University’s Institute for National Security and Military Studies (INSMS) expanded its global learning opportunities for students this summer through a new partnership with the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS) in Athens, Greece.
The RIEAS Greece National Security Summer Internship immerses Austin Peay students in the heart of European policy and intelligence analysis. Conducted annually from May to June, the four-week program enables participants to work directly alongside international researchers and defense professionals while earning academic credits.
“This program pushes students to think critically, assess rapidly, and apply creative intelligence to real-world security issues,” said Dr. Rich Mifsud, the director of INSMS and a retired Army colonel with extensive experience in security partnerships. “They’re learning not in a classroom, but in a professional intelligence environment that demands situational awareness, cultural understanding, and analytical precision.”
During the internship, students attend policy briefings with European and NATO defense attachés, analyze regional security developments, and prepare daily intelligence summaries linking field observations to U.S. national security interests. Topics in recent sessions have included human trafficking, maritime security, NATO operations, and Mediterranean migration patterns.
“You’re not just hearing people speak – you’re asking questions that diplomats have to answer,” said Joshua Hunt, a national security studies major who completed the internship in Summer 2025. “That level of access changes how you see the world. It’s intimidating at first, but you learn to think and act like an analyst.”
Hunt said participants were encouraged to engage directly with visiting officials and to record both verbal and non-verbal cues – lessons that deepened his understanding of human intelligence and international diplomacy.
“Body language tells as much as words,” he said. “Learning to read that was one of the most valuable skills I took away.”
The internship’s collaborative structure reflects INSMS’s mission to provide high-impact, experiential learning for students like Hunt. The partnership began after Dr. Erin Carlin, assistant professor of national security studies, connected with RIEAS leadership during an international conference in 2024.
“The opportunity to collaborate with an independent policy institute like RIEAS allows our students to see how global security analysis operates beyond the classroom,” Carlin said. “It demonstrates that rigorous academic training and applied intelligence work can and should inform one another.”
Since then, the program has grown into a model of undergraduate engagement in applied security analysis.
“This is not a sightseeing program,” Mifsud said. “It’s a professional immersion that teaches our students how to collect, interpret, and communicate intelligence in a multinational environment.”
Dr. Rudy Baker, assistant professor of national security studies, co-developed the program framework and helped integrate the internship into APSU’s curriculum. A former U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Defense official with prior intelligence and research experience in the Balkans, Baker provides academic oversight for the internship’s credit-bearing component and assists with student selection and pre-departure preparation.
“Partnerships like the one with RIEAS demonstrate APSU’s commitment to developing globally engaged security professionals,” Baker said. “By placing our students at the intersection of diplomacy, intelligence, and policy analysis, we’re giving them the skills and perspectives needed to operate confidently in the international arena.”
This year’s RIEAS Greece National Security Summer Internship will run from May 15 – June 15 in Athens and is open exclusively to national security studies majors. Interested students can apply through the Office of Study Abroad and International Exchange and may qualify for the Austin Peay Experience Grant and the Global Learning Travel Grant to offset program costs.