University College London is to offer a post-graduate
course in information security to cater for those with business and
industry experience, as well as recent
graduates.
As a result of the demand for IT security skills, UCL will offer
the course, initially full-time, to 10 students from September this
year.
Although applicants will be expected to have a strong academic
background in maths or electronic engineering, applicants would be
considered from a business background if they could show the right
supplier qualifications or business experience, said Ingemar Cox,
professor of computer science and director of UCL Adastral Park
Campus, which will offer the new courses.
Although UCL will make 10 full-time places available this year, the
course will be expanded to about 30 students and also cater for
part-time study.
"Once the part-time courses become available, we expect to get
more people from industry and business applying," Cox said.
However, he said whether students from business were accepted could
depend on the courses they choose. For example, the cryptography
course has a demanding mathematical content, Cox said. But the
college offers refresher courses in the summer prior to the start
of term to help students who are rusty in certain
disciplines.
Course fees for the MSc are £13,000, which includes a research
project. A shorter diploma is available for £10,000, which excludes
the project work.
Worldwide demand for information security professionals is
predicted to more than double by 2008 to 2.1 million, according to
research firm IDC. This represents annual growth rates of 11.4% for
Europe, 12% for the Americas and 18.3% for Asia Pacific. These jobs
will vary in the level of mathematical, technical and business
skills they require.
Course leader Yvo Desmedt is a world leader in cryptography, and
Cox is and expert in digital rights management. "With additional
help from the mathematics department, there is a great deal of
expertise behind this course," Cox said.