🇳🇱 This minor is taught in Dutch only. This English version explains the programme for international readers and partners — the course itself runs entirely in Dutch.
Avans HogeschoolSecure by DesignMinor · AvansNL
Minor · Avans University of Applied Sciences

Security as a design quality

Welcome to the Secure by Design minor. Not a stand-alone hacking course, but a way of looking at things: security belongs in your very first design decision — across product, process, people and organisation. Over one semester you grow from a shared foundation, through your own specialisation, to a real cybersecurity challenge for a client.

1 semester3 flowstech & non-techdesign-ledNLQF6

01 What this minor is about

Most incidents don't happen because a single firewall fails, but because security was only considered after the fact. This minor flips that around: you learn to treat security as a design quality — just like usability or reliability — that you build in from the start and can account for.

It is deliberately broad, not framed as pure IT. You work on technology as well as behaviour, culture, governance and law. That makes the minor suitable for both technical and non-technical students: the dividing line is your comfort with technology, not your prior knowledge — security is new for everyone.

We build up using canvases, card sets, serious games and a running case, so that knowledge sticks. Theory and practice alternate, and you immediately apply what you learn to a situation that moves ever closer to real professional practice.

02 How to read this minor — three flows

The minor has three consecutive flows. Each flow has its own visual overview (a “praatplaat”) showing what you do and why. Read them in order: each flow builds on the last. Click a card to open the corresponding overview.

Flow 1 · weeks 1–4

Foundation

The shared basis. Four weeks bring tech and non-tech to one level: mindset, threats, governance and design. Security as an attitude, anchored with games, canvases and a running case.

Open the overview →Flow 2 · specialisation

Professional Profile

You step off at a station and go deep. You choose one or more topics, do practical research for a fictional client and deliver a prototype or a report. Your portfolio and final presentation form the assessment.

Open the overview →Flow 3 · the project

Cybersecurity project

With a team of four or five you solve a real cyber challenge for a company. The questions vary enormously, the underlying route is universal — with clear decision points where you set the approach yourselves.

Open the overview →

03 Get started

Start with Foundation. Questions about the minor? See our partners or get in touch.