Birzeit University to launch bachelor’s program in cybersecurity

Cyberintelligence and protection experts are increasingly needed across all industries; Birzeit University is reacting to this need by launching a new bachelor’s degree program in cybersecurity in the fall semester of the 2022–2023 academic year.

The program will allow students to develop their technical and cybersecurity expertise and advance their skills as developers, entrepreneurs, and leaders able to create reliable solutions and secure software systems that would contribute to a safe cyberindustry in Palestine.

Palestinian cyber capabilities are still formative, but the need to protect online security is increasing. Sobhi Ahmed, chair of the Computer Science Department at the Faculty of Engineering and Technology, emphasized the importance of protecting online systems from cyberthreats. He added that such attacks motivated the launching of the program within a constantly evolving digital world.

Courses offered in the program will prepare students to protect the security of both individual institutions and Palestinian industry as a whole. “The courses are interdisciplinary and offer the requisites for graduates to analyze, assess, and use means of cyberprotection, in addition to develop new, safe business-production systems,” Ahmed explained.

The courses needed to obtain the degree will focus on computer science, computer engineering, and the new cybersecurity courses, according to Ahmed.

Earlier this month, Birzeit University announced that the Institute of Law would begin a new program in law and technology to answer the challenges of technology-driven societies within a legal framework. The two new programs are part of the university’s belief in contributing to an increasingly digital world.