Computer Security Education and Research in Australia

Determining modern curriculum content and industrially relevant research agendas are two issues that every academic in any field - and any country $can identify with. Curriculum issues are particularly relevant in information and communication technology (ICT) security because relevant topics and technologies change from year to year. In a world of rootkits, 0-day exploits, Trojans, viruses, and the ubiquitous inside attacker, it's difficult to plan course content that will remain topical, helping graduates to both understand fundamental concepts and be immediately beneficial to their employers

The Australian Higher Education System

Australia's tertiary education is a two-tiered system with an articulation pathway between the Australian Technical and Further Education (TAFE) colleges and the universities. TAFEs award vocational training certificates and two-year diplomas, whereas university students can graduate with undergraduate degrees, honors, masters (either by course work or through research), and PhDs. This system is founded on the British model, which takes students straight from high school, where they've already begun to specialize by making broad choices between arts and science subjects by the time they're 15 years old, and, bypassing any real “liberal arts” core, feeds them directly into their technical specialties at age 18.