Looking Back at the First Year of Master Cybersecurity Engineering of the HHS

Since last year, The Hague University of Applied Sciences (HHS) offers the master programme ‘Cyber Security Engineering’ to post-graduate students. The two-year programme offers a combination of theoretical concepts, stepping stones, and cybersecurity is connected to practical aspects such as trends and sectors. It surpassed expectations of students, and cybersecurity organisations are also enthusiastic, as the demand for research and knowledge backgrounds in the cybersecurity sector is high.

The master, which is developed by TU Delft, Leiden University and HHS, combines obtaining scientific knowledge with practical skills, which can be seen as the best of both worlds. Regularly, guest speakers including PhD students and specialists from businesses talk about current topics regarding cybersecurity. Furthermore, the programme is strongly intertwined with the Cyber Security Knowledge Centre, providing researchers and specialists who work in in the cybersecurity field constantly.

Marcel Spruit, cybersecurity professor at HHS, and Mitchell Pompe, student of the programme and sales systems engineer, endorse this important combination of knowledge and practice.

Marcel: “Years ago we already spoke out and stressed the importance to develop sophisticated master programmes regarding cybersecurity. The master Cyber Security Engineering is one of the first results of this request. The programme is focused on students active on the labour market.”

Mitchell stresses the added value of this master in the work he is doing. And that the master's programme is given an extra dimension by the guest speakers from the business community and partners from Security Delta (HSD).

Mitchell: “I am involved in securing internal communication flows and managing information connected to the cloud. Because of everything I have learned during the master, I can now better perform my job.”

Furthermore, the need for cybersecurity specialists with a scientific background is high. When the master programme was launched, organisations such as the Ministry of Defense immediately enrolled several employees for the programme, and the National Centre for Cyber Security (NCSC) send congratulations to the organisation of the master programme even before it officially started. It is clear that organisations value cybersecurity master programmes, stresses Peter Konings, one of the students.

Peter: ‘When I enrolled for the master programme, I worked for the Cyber Security Operation Centre of a governmental organisation. Currently, I have progressed to cybersecurity inspector at another governmental organisation, active in the critical sector.  When you attend this master, an employer considers this as a big advantage.”

Would you like to know about this master programme? Please click here for more information.

Read the official article (in Dutch).