CISO Programme Final Defences: Reflecting on the Work-Study Experience

Students from the Master’s Cybersecurity with CISO specialisation at ISTIC recently presented their two years of work-study experience during their final-year defences.

Highlighting Two Years of Professional Learning

The students of the Master’s Cybersecurity with Chief Information Security Officers (CISO) specialisation, recently concluded their academic journey with the expected capstone exercise: the defence. In front of an audience comprising programme directors, faculty members, work-study mentors, and the new cohort of M2 CISO students, each student showcased the outcomes of their two-year work-study experience. They highlighted the tasks they carried out within their companies, the technical and organisational skills they developed, and the day-to-day realities of a future cybersecurity professional.

These presentations provided concrete illustrations of how the theory taught at ISTIC translates into practice and demonstrated how work-study students evolve into professionals capable of addressing real-world business challenges.

Mutual Enrichment for Education and Industry

Beyond academic assessment, the defences offer valuable feedback. They enable lecturers to enrich their courses with real-life case studies and inform the deliberations of the Cybersecurity programme’s advisory board, which continually draws on these testimonies to adapt and evolve the curriculum in line with market needs.

These defences thus serve as a genuine driver for the programme’s development, while also recognising and celebrating the students’ commitment and professionalism.