With cybercrime at an all-time high, the demand for experienced professionals in the cybersecurity field is growing by the day.
To address this need, the University of New England (UNE) has developed a suite of online and on-campus postgraduate courses which will see students learn how to solve complex cyber challenges, protect data and networks, and future proof themselves in one of the most rapidly changing employment sectors worldwide.
With enrolments now open, we had a chat to Course Coordinator, Professor Ljiljana Brankovic, to ask all of our burning questions about the courses.
Can you give an overview of UNE's new postgraduate cybersecurity courses?
UNE’s new cybersecurity courses include a Master of Cybersecurity, a Graduate Diploma of Cybersecurity, and a Graduate Certificate of Cybersecurity. These courses cover a wide range of state-of-the-art cybersecurity areas including network security, cloud security, ethical hacking, intrusion detection, and information privacy. The Master of Cybersecurity also gives students the opportunity to carry out industry projects or academic research and prepares them for research higher degree programs.
For students without an IT background, we also offer a Graduate Certificate of Cybersecurity and Computing, where they acquire basic IT skills before embarking on learning cybersecurity.
Who have these courses been designed for, and who can apply?
Our new postgraduate cybersecurity courses have been designed to accommodate graduates with a Bachelor’s degree in any discipline. Graduates seeking to move into a cybersecurity career or those who wish to build upon their existing cybersecurity skills are all welcome to enrol. Students can study part-time or full-time, on-campus or online – whatever suits them the most.
Why is now the time to be studying cybersecurity?
In the 2021-2022 financial year, 76,000 cybercrimes were reported in Australia (a 13 percent increase from the previous year). On average, a cybercrime is reported every 7 minutes. As a response to ever-growing cybercrimes, the Australian Government has recently legislated cybersecurity obligations for over 2,000 ‘critical infrastructure’ businesses and increased penalties for businesses that do not sufficiently protect customer data. A 2022 survey showed that the majority of Australian companies had plans to increase their cybersecurity budget in 2023. The situation is similar on a worldwide scale.
Due to this rise in cybersecurity crime, there is a growing need for cybersecurity professionals in Australia and worldwide, so now is the right time to study cybersecurity.
Image: With cybercrime on the rise, cybersecurity specialists are high in demand.
Do people have to have a background in cybersecurity or IT to excel in these courses?
Not at all – our cybersecurity courses cater to students of all backgrounds, as long as they have an undergraduate degree in any area.
Those students who do not have an IT background should enrol in the Master of Cybersecurity and Computing, or Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity and Computing. Within these two courses, students devote one trimester to acquiring basic IT skills through the study of programming, algorithms, and so on. Then, they continue on to study dedicated cybersecurity units.
Students with an IT background, regardless of whether they have experience with cybersecurity or not, enrol directly into Master of Cybersecurity, Diploma of Cybersecurity or Graduate Certificate of Cybersecurity, depending on their preferences
What are the potential careers that could come out of this?
According to talent.com.au, entry-level jobs in cybersecurity attract salaries of over $100,000 per year, while experienced professionals earn up to $164,203 per year. Potential careers for the graduates of one of our cybersecuritiy courses include:
- Cybersecurity Systems Architect
- Cloud Security Architect
- Cybersecurity Consultant
- Cybersecurity Analyst
- (Information Security Engineer
- Cybersecurity Officer, Chief Information Security Officer
- Cybersecurity Specialist
- Security Risk Manager
- Personal Data Protection Officer
What do you hope people gain from these courses?
When we were designing our cybersecurity courses, we had two things in mind. First, that our courses have a number of practically oriented units and aim to produce job-ready graduates. The second and equally important aim is to teach theoretical foundations of cybersecurity to give our graduates a deeper understanding of the area so they can continue to learn and acquire new skills as the field of cybersecurity evolves.
As course coordinator, why are you passionate about this field?
I am very passionate about cybersecurity and I have been working in this area for almost 30 years. During this time, I have witnessed a huge growth in this area, both in terms of scope and number of professionals working in this area and also in its critical importance for various organisations, businesses, and ordinary people. It is a fantastic career to get into, as it is forecast to keep expanding into the foreseeable future.
Enrolments for T2 are now open. Find out more here
