The University of Queensland closes cyber security skills gap

Bangalore: A new postgraduate course at The University of Queensland (UQ) is the first in Australia to offer an integrated learning experience that addresses the specialist skills and real-world experience required of graduates.

With over one million job openings globally, cyber security professionals are in significant demand. As the evolution of the threat landscape accelerates with rapid information technology change, universities and training institutions have been tasked with considering how to close the widening skills gap and ensure that their graduates are well-armed to keep pace.

The new Master of Cyber Security program at UQ will do just that, meeting the need for deep technical specialisation in core areas such as cyber defence and cyber criminology.

UQ’s Chair and Director of Cyber Security Professor Ryan Ko said students would learn from some of the best minds in software engineering, computer science, artificial intelligence, business, criminology, and law and ethics.

“Students will also benefit from close industry ties, and a breadth and depth of learning that we feel no other cyber security university course in Australia offers,” Professor Ko said.

“Students will spend a large portion of their studies on the job, embedded in industry and gaining experience in tackling real and emerging cyber security threats.

“Cyber security jobs are fast becoming the highest-paying jobs in the IT sector, and having real-life experience working in this area before graduating will make our students attractive to a huge range of international organisations.”

UQ is the first university in Australia to adopt the internationally recognised Cyber Security Education framework (NIST’s NICE framework), the global gold standard for cyber security education and job alignment. The UQ program brings together students from diverse backgrounds, including from IT, computing, business, mathematics, social science and law to offer specialisations in cyber defence, cyber criminology, cryptography and cyber security leadership.

Developed in consultation with leading industry professionals, the program was recently endorsed by cyber security education pioneer Professor Corey Schou.

“This program will really move the cyber security profession forward. Viewing cyber security in this interdisciplinary way is relevant, hitting areas of high demand and it helps to develop a worldwide community of highly trained and trusted professionals who can rapidly respond to new threats and problems.”

For more information about the Master of Cyber Security, visit the UQ Future Students website.