The digital borders of a country is a crucial infrastructure which requires trained cyber-security professionals who can act instantaneously, as per the threats and crisis at hand. Unprecedented digital attacks may originate from any source and to tackle it, skilled cybersecurity personnel are the need of the hour. So to fill this void in the country, IIT-Kanpur has launched 3 new master’s programs in Cybersecurity, in addition to a devoted centre for cybersecurity.
New programs to be offered by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering
The initiative to establish the 3 courses- MTech, MS by Research, and BT-MT Dual Degree in Cybersecurity, was undertaken by Prof Manindra Agrawal and Prof Sandeep K Shukla from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. As per reports, IIT Kanpur has designed these programmes to coach “dedicated and highly skilled manpower” to contribute to the “nation’s march towards a Digital India”.
The new programmes will be offered by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), IIT Kanpur. The admissions for the courses will start from April-May 2021 and the classes will be held August 2021 onwards with a restricted number of seats to begin with and further, the authorities will gradually scale it all up in size and scope.
Prof. Abhay Krandikar, Director IIT Kanpur, was quoted saying, “In the world of Digital Nomads (especially after Covid19) and Gig Economy, there has been a significant shift to the cloud as almost everyone who is involved in a productive activity has had to go online and use digital devices. This shift means there are millions of new netizens and organizations that are potentially vulnerable to sophisticated cybercrime. We have timed these Masters programs to ensure that we start producing cyber warriors of the future who can defend not only national boundaries but also make a mark internationally.”
Division of seats as laid out by IIT-K
Reportedly, the initial intake of the MTech program in Cyber Security will be limited to 15 students through GATE/industry sponsorship and 10 students from Defence and other government bodies. The MS by Research in Cybersecurity program will accept 10 students through GATE and industry sponsorship and 5 students from Defence and other government agencies.
The BT-MT dual program is only open to the IIT-Kanpur Computer Science and Engineering BTech students who want to opt for a BTech-MTech dual degree by completing additional credits to earn a master’s degree. These seats include the reserved seats from pertaining to the different reservations categories, as per the laws.
