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.
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 starts with Foundation. From week 5, profile development and the company project run alongside one another, culminating in the final event in week 19. Open a card for the programme and activities.
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 · weeks 5–10, development until week 19Professional 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. Week 10 is an interim review; continue developing towards the profile workshops in week 19.
Open the overview →Flow 3 · starts week 5, intensive from week 11Cybersecurity 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 →Week 19 · learn together & share resultsFinal event
Morning profile workshops, followed by keynotes and all project presentations from 14:00. For students, clients and company delegates.
Open the overview →03 Get started
Start with Foundation. Questions about the minor? See our partners or get in touch.