Magnet Forensics Scholarship Program

The annual Magnet Forensics Scholarship Program awards recipients in two categories: new to digital forensics and advanced. In the first category, we’re looking for promising investigators who want to get a start in the field of digital forensics. In the second category, we’re looking for more experienced digital investigators who have no experience with Magnet Axiom and want to learn more about how it can help in their investigations.

Objectives of the Magnet Forensics Scholarship Program

We’re offering these scholarships because we feel it’s vitally important to:

  • Help agencies with limited or no digital forensics capacity to utilize digital evidence to get to the truth in investigations into crimes such as child sexual exploitation, human trafficking, and others involving digital evidence.
  • Advance the technical skills of promising officers by giving them digital forensics training so we can continue to work together in our mission to Unlock the Truth and Protect the Innocent.
  • Promote diversity throughout the digital forensics field.

To apply for the Magnet Forensics Scholarship Program, fill out this form. Your application will need to include your current resume, a cover letter explaining your interest and how you meet the program’s objectives, and a letter of reference from a supervisor or leader within your agency.

Applications are now open for the 2024 awards and will close on November 22, 2024. 

If you have any questions, please contact us at scholarshipprogram@magnetforensics.com.

What recipients will receive

World-class digital forensics training

Starting from the very basics of digital forensics and working right through to advanced smartphone and computer forensics, you’ll be able to take unlimited training from Magnet Forensics for a year.

Opportunity to obtain digital forensics certifications

After completing our training, you’ll be eligible to become Magnet Certified, demonstrating your expertise and giving you credibility with your agency and on the stand.

Software license for one year

You will also receive a one-year Magnet Axiom license, giving you access to a comprehensive digital forensics tool that will help you find and report on evidence from smartphones, computers, and the cloud.

The 2024 Magnet Forensics Scholarship Program recipients are being awarded in honour of Sgt. Steve Martin

The 2024 Magnet Forensics Scholarship Program is honouring an officer who committed his career to the fight against child sexual exploitation. Sgt. Steve Martin joined the Peel Regional Police in 2003, beginning his career on uniform patrol. Over the next few years, Martin would serve with the agency’s neighbourhood policing unit and its Criminal Investigation Bureau, before joining its Internet Child Exploitation unit in 2013. Martin was passionate about helping children: As an officer, he played a lead role in arresting criminals who shared and created child sexual abuse material. In between shifts, he was active in the local Big Brother community. He died in January after a long bout with cancer, leaving behind his wife and six-year-old daughter. He was 40 years old.

Meet this year’s Magnet Forensics Program Award winners

We’re proud to announce the latest winners of the Magnet Forensics Scholarship Program:

NEW TO FORENSICS:

Madeline Vogelsang

Vancouver Police Department, Vancouver, Washington

“I am so grateful for this opportunity and excited to get going with training! I’m honored to get to continue Sgt. Steve Martin’s legacy of helping children and making the world a little safer.“

Kaung Zaw Hein

National Bank of Canada Group, Yangon, Myanmar

“I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the Magnet Forensics Scholarship Community for offering me this incredible opportunity. Additionally, I am deeply grateful to everyone who supported and recommended me for this scholarship. Your encouragement and belief in me mean the world, and I am truly honored to have your support as I embark on this journey. Thank you all for making this possible.“

ADVANCED:

Jennifer Graham

Plover Police Department, Plover, Wisconsin

“I am just incredibly grateful to Magnet Forensics for this opportunity. It’s not often that smaller agencies such as mine is given a chance to show that even the smallest police departments can make a difference in the world. If I can even save one person with the knowledge that I will be gaining from Magnet Forensics, then all the time invested into my trainings will make it worth it.“

Jeanne-Marie Grobler

Commerce Commission New Zealand, Auckland, New Zealand

“I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity and even though I am a rookie in DFU terms, persistence and perseverance make an unbeatable combination for success.“

Alban Haxhia

Albanian State Police, Tirane, Albania

“I am deeply thankful for the opportunity to participate in this esteemed program, recognizing it as a testament to the dedication and hard work that has brought me to this point in my journey. The Magnet Forensics Scholarship Program represents not only a recognition of past achievements but also a catalyst for future personal growth and development.“

Hear from previous Magnet Forensics Scholarship award winners:

Get to know the five winners of the 2023 Magnet Forensics Scholarship Awards in this Q&A. 
Read more: Meet the 2023 recipients

We’re proud to announce the six winners of the Magnet Forensics Scholarship Award for 2022! Get to know them in this Q&A. 
Read more: Meet the 2022 recipients

Caroline Torie, St. Joseph County Cyber Crimes Unit in Indiana, Richard Gomm, Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission in Ireland, Jacob Walk, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in Missouri, Alberto Magno, Civil Police of the Federal District in Brazil all share their thoughts on receiving the 2021 Magnet Forensics Scholarship Award.
Read more: Meet the 2021 recipients

Kate Newrick, an investigator with the Digital Child Exploitation Team at the Department of Internal Affairs in New Zealand, and Lawrence Mowery, a computer forensic detective at the Moscow Police Department in Idaho, discuss why they took it upon themselves to apply for the Magnet Forensics Scholarship Award, and how they hope it will help with their respective careers.
Read more: Meet the 2019 recipients

Eric Dalla Mura, an investigator with the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations, discusses winning the Magnet Forensics Scholarship Award and how it’s helped inform where he will go in his career.
Read more: Catching up with the winner of the first scholarship award

Submit your application

To apply for the Magnet Forensics Scholarship Program, fill out this form. Your application will need to also include: 

1. Your current resume / CV

2. A cover letter explaining how you meet the objectives of the Magnet Forensics Scholarship Program (outlined above)

3. A letter of reference from a supervisor and/or leader within your agency

Applications are now open for the 2024 awards and will close on November 22, 2024.