How can we raise awareness of cyber and information security among older persons? That is the central question addressed by students from four European universities during an annual course. The University of Skövde is hosting the international exchange – a week filled with creative work, lectures and cross-border collaboration.
This week, an international course has been given at the University of Skövde. The course is part of a so-called BIP (Blended Intensive Programme) and involves collaboration between the Master’s Programme in Privacy, Information and Cyber Security (PICS) at the University of Skövde, and students and teachers from universities in Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands.
“Through this course, students not only gain insights into different perspectives on information security, they also take on the significant challenge of raising awareness about cyber and information security among target groups who typically lack this knowledge,” says Martin Lundgren, Senior Lecturer in Informatics at the University of Skövde and Programme Coordinator for PICS.
The course consists of an online component featuring guest lecturers from both academia and industry, who share their expertise on current topics such as cybercrime, legislation, and technical security challenges. Following this, the students meet on-site in Skövde for an intensive week of collaboration. This year, their task is to develop a prototype – which could be a game, a brochure, an app, or something entirely different – to help increase security awareness among older persons.
Innovative Solutions and International Experiences
This is the fourth year this BIP has been given, but the first time the University of Skövde is acting as host. Previous years’ projects have resulted in everything from games to short, informative and entertaining video series published on social media – all with the aim of engagingly spreading knowledge about cybersecurity.
“I believe that this type of collaboration enhances a sense of unity and mutual understanding of challenges, as well as cultural differences and similarities, better preparing students to tackle shared global issues,” says Martin Lundgren.
Card Game Helps Identify Scams
One of the participating students is Wiktoria Przykucka from Howest University in Belgium. Her group chose to create a card game featuring three types of cards: email, text message and phone call. The player must determine whether the card presents a scam or not.
In Wiktoria Przykuckas group, there were students from three countries.
“We thought that a game would be enjoyable and familiar to the target group, making it easier to understand. You can also play it with friends and family, making it a nice experience.”
According to Wiktoria, the advantage of participating in a BIP with students from different countries is that everyone contributes different perspectives and ideas. Even though they all study similar subjects, their experiences vary.
“This has been a fantastic experience and a great opportunity. I would definitely do it again and would highly recommend it to other students,” she says.
In an increasingly connected world, threats to digital security are global, making international collaboration essential.
“We face many shared challenges in society today, ranging from climate change to an ever-growing but vulnerable digital ecosystem. These challenges transcend borders, and therefore, it is only natural that the solutions should as well,” Martin Lundgren concludes.
