20.10.2021
On November 19, 2020, a virtual roundtable on “Higher Education in Cyber Security in Ukraine” was organized by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The event was the beginning of one of the components of the USAID project “Cyber Security of Critical Infrastructure of Ukraine” – training in cyber security. American and Ukrainian representatives of the public and private sectors, as well as the academic community gathered to discuss the state of higher education in cybersecurity in the country, to develop recommendations for strengthening existing and creating new curricula, to develop a concept of teacher training.
The roundtable participants were greeted by Farhad Gaussie, Director of the USAID Economic Growth Office in Ukraine and Belarus, Oleksandr Potiy, Deputy Head of the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, and Artur Seletsky, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine. Associate Professor of IKI Evdokimenko M.O. moderated Panel Session III “Vision of future cybersecurity education in Ukraine” , and the Dean of the Faculty of IC Assoc. Snigurov A.V. and graduate student Balashov V. were speakers. The participants of the round table, including representatives of the IHE of Ukraine and stakeholders, noted that the development of a skilled workforce in the field of cybersecurity in Ukraine is a priority for the protection of critical infrastructure. Despite the dynamic growth of the IT sector, Ukraine faces a shortage of qualified and experienced cybersecurity professionals. With the support of the USAID Critical Security of Critical Infrastructure of Ukraine project, it is planned to introduce approaches that will promote the development of new talents and build the capacity of professionals who are already working.
The participants of the round table got acquainted with the results of the operational assessment of higher education in cybersecurity in Ukraine and the results of surveys of the state of cybersecurity curricula in higher educational institutions of Ukraine. Reports indicate that Ukrainian companies are concerned that graduates of Cybersecurity often lack specialization or practical skills. 90% of respondents identified among the priorities the need to develop skills of specialized training for teachers, as well as expanding opportunities for practical training of students.
As part of the USAID Critical Security of Critical Infrastructure of Ukraine project, 300 teachers from at least 12 Ukrainian universities (including NURE) will be trained to implement new cybersecurity training programs based on international certification standards and focus more on practical methods. teaching. Students and virtual laboratories for modeling processes in information and cybersecurity will help students to acquire professional competencies and practical skills in conditions as close as possible to real cyber threats. Roundtable participants also explored models of corporate partnership, such as internships and dual education, a model that combines apprenticeship and academic education. Strengthening human resources in the field of cybersecurity in Ukraine is one of the main tasks of the four-year USAID project “Cybersecurity of Critical Infrastructure of Ukraine”.
