Post-grad information management and security courses on offer

Two new post-graduate education courses aimed at creating primed information executives of the future have been unveiled at City University, London.  
The first is a Master of Science degree (MSc) in Information Security Risk, delivered part-time over just shy of a two-and-a-half year period.

The course, requiring at least five years experience in IT, is aimed at those with a long term aspiration for a role as a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). Those that successfully complete the eight modules and practical final project required to earn the MSc will immediately be able to step into senior information security roles such as senior security architects or information risk managers, if not a CSO job the prospectus contends.

To enable this progression, the course provides a practical knowledge of:

•    Principles of security and resilience
•    Understanding of risk as a socio-technical rather than technical issue
•    A common framework for considering risks with technical and human, accidental and malicious causes
•    Analysis of assurance (systems and policies) beyond mere compliance with standards and rules
•    Professional development and leadership

Specific module subjects covered within the course include information security, quantitative risk assessment, and assurance, as well as more business-oriented issues such as information leadership, enterprise architecture, and professional skills.

The course has been developed jointly by the university’s School of Informatics and Centre for Software Reliability. Professor Kevin Jones of the latter discusses the course in this video:

The second new course that the University is introducing is a part-time Master of Information Leadership course which is designed for anyone that aspires to a role as a CIO, CTO, business change director, knowledge director, chief librarian or similar.

Again aimed at professionals that are already in employment, the course is delivered over 10 weekends per year over 28 months. Entrance requirements include at least three years in an experienced business-facing information role.

It comprises all of the aspects that the modern day and future information leader will be expected to be versed in, including technology, management, legal and social services – a blend of disciplines that the course leaders state is missing from the current roster of MBAs and other courses.

Areas of best practice included are service delivery, vendor management, strategy, governance, portfolio management, security and risk.

The prospectus maintains that participants will be able to make a difference to their current roles almost immediately by taking the course and that it is aligned with the common practical organisational goals of ‘delivery, cost-effectiveness and making the case for information as a transformational force’.

The courses have been designed with feed-in from David Chan, director of City University’s Centre for Information Leadership and a regular speaker at Big Data Insight Group Forums.  

For more information on the ISR MSc, see here.

For more information about the Master of Information Leadership course, see here.

Would you be interested in embarking on short or long courses to help you work with big data or information management? Email mark.young@bigdatainsightgroup.com.