Cyber security Summer Schools with the EIT Digital difference

Whether you’re shopping online or overseeing a global corporation, cyber security matters to you. Cyber security’s broad impact on our lives makes it an attractive field for a career, as well as an area where almost everyone can benefit from an understanding of the basics.

With an appreciation of cyber security’s growing importance, EIT Digital offers two summer courses on different aspects of the subject, one focusing on e-governance and one on blockchain contracts. Both courses provide professionals and students an overview of cyber security, as well as a potential launching pad for a new business venture or career. Like all EIT Digital education, these courses stand out because they involve EIT Digital’s world-leading network, as well as top-level training in entrepreneurship and innovation.

“Data is the new gold and how we protect it matters! Data comes in the form of intellectual property, trade secrets, financial, health or even very personal information,” said Sergio Balassone, Head of Summer Schools at EIT Digital. “The sector has a very promising career outlook, especially because several countries have a deficit of employees in cyber security.”

The summer school format allows participants to investigate the topic at a time when they are not involved in other course work, with the two-week programme providing good exposure to a range of cyber security issues. The one-week programme is designed for busy professionals, giving them the information they need in a shorter, more intensive course.

Both courses provide a strong overview of cyber security, but they approach it from different angles.

Cyber Security for Blockchain: The blockchain mechanism that makes cybercurrency possible involves the use of “smart contracts”, agreements that are enforceable by the involved parties, using transparent coding, and do not require oversight by a central authority. Smart contracts can be used to conduct initial coin offerings, a new, simpler way to fund a startup that can be better than an IPO, but these arrangements are subject to fraud and require careful consideration be given to cyber security.

Participants in this two-week course, offered in Bratislava, Slovakia, during 15-26 August 2022, will learn to use the blockchain framework of Ethereum, a platform that enables a cybercurrency, with a special emphasis on cyber security issues. Additional topics covered include cyber security for self-driving cars and the internet of things, as well as use of machine learning to improve cyber security and inform “digital forensics”.

Cyber Security in e-Governance: This one-week, intensive course, taught in Tallinn, Estonia, during 31 July-5 August 2022, will be offered by lecturers who are practitioners in public and private cyber security. It will include a review of online governance in Estonia, which is a pioneer in e-governance but was hit with the first-ever nationwide cyberattack in 2007. Students will explore lessons learned from that attack, and the resulting solutions.

From a business perspective, the course will also look at design and creation of e-services, as well as business models for startups that could monetise these services. There will be a one-day session involving hands-on cyber security exercises, led by mentors and experts in the field, to help improve practical skills.