Towards the Harmonisation of Cybersecurity Education and Training in the European Union through Innovation Projects

Recent European Union (EU) studies have found that cybersecurity skills are in very high demand across Europe, leading to demands for harmonisation and consolidation in cybersecurity education and training. In response to this demand, the paper advocates for the harmonisation and consolidation of cybersecurity education and training, presenting case studies from two noteworthy projects-CyberSecPro, EU-CIP and NERO, and explores the possible harmonisation of cybersecurity education and training that enhances cybersecurity expertise and resilience in the EU. The first case study focuses on conducting a market demand survey on the cybersecurity skills and competencies required in the workforce. Furthermore, it analyses the cybersecurity education programmes and training offered in EU higher education institutes (HEIs) within the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) context. This case study identifies implications for improving cybersecurity study modules and outlines steps to upgrade cybersecurity practical education and training offerings in higher education while working closely with industry. The second case study comes from the EU-CIP project and focuses on specialised cybersecurity education and training for critical infrastructure protection and resilience in the EU. The second study advocates the open study offerings and importance of establishing online training and mentoring services. Its focus was on developing cybersecurity skills, defining learning paths, enhancing competencies, and fostering the co-creation of a collective European knowledge hub for critical infrastructure protection and cybersecurity information resilience (CIP/CIR). The findings from these case studies outline the harmonisation approach of cybersecurity studies in the EU and contribute to the development of data-driven and evidence-based policymaking processes for boosting the innovation capacity of critical infrastructure operators and authorities in the EU.