17 October 2022

Companies and society in general are increasingly targeted by cybercrime as digitalisation proceeds, while the expertise needed to ensure protection is lacking. This has led Linköping University to establish a master’s programme in cybersecurity.

Woman and man with headsets and green military clothing in front of computer. More screens in the background.
Students from the new master’s programme in cybersecurity will help protect society against cybercrime. Cybersecurity competence is needed in every sector and the demand for security experts is deemed to be large. Photographer: istock/gorodenkoff

There are several good reasons for LiU to start an advanced study programme in cybersecurity, in addition to the increase in society’s need to protect itself against cybercrime. The most important of these is that LiU already has extensive expertise and conducts advanced research in the field. Another is the strong connections between companies in the security field such as Saab, Sectra and Ericsson, and with other public authorities and research institutes such as the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI), the Swedish National Forensic Centre (NFC), Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE), and the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI). The new centre for cybersecurity that is now being set up in Linköping Science Park also strengthens the profile of the region within cybersecurity, and this will become even more concrete when the Swedish Armed Forces establishes an IT defence unit here.

“This is an area where we are strong”

“Indeed – this is an area where we are strong, and it was thus logical that we start a master’s programme. We have the conditions required for this with teachers and researchers at three departments: the Department of Computer and Information Science, the Department of Electrical Engineering, and the Department of Management and Engineering. Here, we can connect knowledge in such fields as network and software security with insight into how organisations and companies should deal with and prevent cyberattacks,” says Mikael Asplund in the Department of Computer and Information Science at Linköping University, contact person for the programme.

There is a general belief that there will be a large demand for students with a master’s degree in cybersecurity, and experience from other universities that have started to offer similar study programmes has shown that there are many more applicants than places available. Further evidence for this comes from the huge interest in LiU’s summer course in cybersecurity, which was one of the most popular courses in Sweden in the summer of 2022.

The master’s programme in cybersecurity will start in the autumn term of 2023.

Translation: George Farrants

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