A Case Study of a Cybersecurity Programme Curriculum Design, Resource Management, and Reflections

Cybersecurity is an area of growing international importance. In response to global shortages of Cybersecurity skills, many universities have introduced degree programmes in Cybersecurity. These programmes aim to prepare students to become Cybersecurity practitioners with advanced skills in a timely manner. Several universities offer Cybersecurity degrees, but these have been developed ad hoc, as there is currently no internationally accepted Cybersecurity curriculum. Recently, an ITiCSE working group on global perspectives on Cybersecurity education developed a competency-based framework that aims to help institutions to implement Cybersecurity programmes. In this report, we present a case study of a Cybersecurity programme at the University of Auckland. We discuss how the curriculum and resource management of this programme evolved, and we present some challenges for the design and delivery of a Cybersecurity programme in the light of this competency-based framework.