A third-year student in the Bachelor of Engineering – Information Systems program at Humber, Prayag Bhagha, liked the potential that the applied master’s Cybersecurity program could offer students who want higher-level positions in the industry.
Humber said in a Dec. 1 announcement that the applied master’s program will be held in Humber’s Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation.
It said the Barrett Centre has a Digital Technology Hub that features a dedicated data centre, cyber range capabilities and specialized penetration equipment.
Bagha said he did a lab for his program that is a part of the new applied master’s, and it was his “favourite part of being at Humber so far.”
He said he had an interest in cybersecurity and is focusing on that in his third year.
Bagha said he can see himself going for Humber’s master’s program after graduating and getting a bit of experience in the field first.
Humber announced on Dec. 1 that an applied master’s degree program, Computer Science – Cybersecurity Operations and Management, is set to start classes in May.
The degree is a two-year, four-semester program with a capstone applied research industry project in the final year.
Program Coordinator Haidar Jabbar said he is looking for students who have “basic foundation and common sense.
“We're hoping that our graduates will graduate with the knowledge in the leadership mindset. So, they will be business managers, there will be CEOs, there will be decision makers,” he said.
The Humber website said requirements for admission to the program are people with a background of a four-year honours degree, or equivalent, in a relevant area of study.
Author and podcast host of Cybersecurity Today, Jim Love, was one of many who helped develop Humber’s applied master’s program.
Love said as an advisor for the program, he was able to share his perspectives, opinions and hope for the future of the applied degree.
He said he enjoyed being able to discuss cybersecurity with others that he was not in competition with, at his own level, during the development process.
“You can not only share war stories, but you can learn from them,” he said.
Love said the cybersecurity industry is “sadly, in its infancy.”
Jabbar said miscellaneous job portals show an 8,000 to 15,000 open jobs for cybersecurity in Canada.
“That gives you a good indication that there's a lot of need for cybersecurity, and AI and emerging technologies. And if you look around, you know, the timing reflects the reality we are in,” he said. “We listen to the industry.
Jabbar said the program takes on a modern look at security with all the updates in the field of cybersecurity.
Love said he thinks there is enough built into the course to help sustain the rate at which technology like artificial intelligence is advancing.
He said it offers students the ability to learn how to become resilient in an industry that people have become used to being a “necessary sufferance.”
“I’ve talked to a lot of senior security people, and none of us would go back into it, knowing what we know now,” he said.
Jabbar said the biggest challenge he had to work with was the constant changes.
“Technology changes every minute, every day,” he said. “The time we start developing it and finishing, there's a lot of changes that have been made.”
Love said a big part of the program is preparing students not just technically, but also preparing them to survive the cybersecurity industry.
“I think, to a degree, you can put that into a program, I think we tried to do that,” he said. Love said the academic approach to security is “irrelevant, I’m sorry, but it is.”
He said Humber’s program offers the training needed to deal with new situations that no academic or university program could offer.
“One of the great things about the program is that it is going to take people who wouldn’t necessarily have as much technical background, but they would be able to get that education,” Love said.
Jabbar said the polytechnic in Humber Polytechnic means it focuses on applied practical ability.
“That's an advantage for students who will do an applied master's in a polytechnic. Applied here means that students will learn by doing things rather than just studying it,” he said.
Humber said in its announcement that this is the second master’s program that it offers.
The first was the Applied Master of Engineering in Advanced Manufacturing Engineering. Humber said the program, unlike traditional graduate programs, ensures research and scholarship are grounded in real-world challenges.
Bagha said the applied aspect that Humber brings to its higher education programs is a better way of learning.
“The applied component to it is something that keeps us constantly engaged,” he said. “The balance is great. It’s a step in the right direction.”
Love said few post-secondary programs would offer the level of practical training needed, and he didn’t know of any outside of Humber. “I think that’s what people can get from a program like this,” he said.
