Online Entrepreneurial Skills program Cybersecurity of TU Delft and TU Twente  

Nine teams of master students of TU Delft and the University of Twente have researched new market opportunities for cyber security companies. This has been valuable for the strategy of the participating companies and for the entrepreneurial skills of technical cyber security students.

After a call in February, Guardian360, NIXU, Fox-It, Tesorion, CFLW and Compumatica signed up to work together with the upcoming talents. In the past two months, despite the restrictions that now apply in times of Covid-19, they have been able to gather good information about the market and about potential customers.

Potential customers for the participating companies were approached and asked about the added value of services and which pricing strategies are attractive to them. This information provides good and clear direction to the companies and an assessment of the plans they have. Students have found the answers for: 

• How are we going to enter international markets?
• Which countries and customers could we approach first?
• What services are valued by customers, can they do their job faster and safer with new services?
• How can the cybersecurity companies earn from this themselves, what pricing strategy could they follow?

Many of the participating companies, also HSD Partners, see participation in the Entrepreneurial Skills program of the Universities of Technology (led by Victor Scholten) as an opportunity to discover cyber talents and future entrepreneurs with potential.

 

Nixu stated that the research is an: "Incredibly fun field in which students not only have to learn what the technique is, because ultimately it is all about the business.

In this way, the Municipality of The Hague offers practical support to companies in the region and possibly attracts new businesses. The students experienced it as a nice challenge. Very direct and hands-on in the implementation and they immediately see how specific services deliver value for customers.