A brief look back: the results of the course held in the winter semester 2024/25 were fantastic. In the fall, 1,503 participants from 84 countries registered, making it one of the largest online courses in the Czech Republic. The streamed lectures received over 15,000 views on YouTube, and more than 11,000 messages were exchanged via the Matrix chat system, which the course organizers say demonstrates a thriving study community. A total of 220 students met all the requirements to earn a certificate, which represents an excellent success rate for a course of this type.
Dr. Sebastián García, Ing. Veronica Valeros - Phd student at FEE CTU. PhD students Ondřej Lukáš, Maria Rigaki, Muris Sladic, and Ing. Martin Řepa, and Ing. Lukáš Forst designed the course program to reflect real-world security challenges, drawing on their extensive research, industry expertise, and passion for teaching.
And what about this year?
The course continues to attract great interest this academic year. According to Ing. Veronica Valeros, about 1,200 students have registered. “We have 96 students attending in person, mostly from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and the Faculty of Information Technology, but also students from lifelong learning programs, Erasmus students, and students in the new prg.ai Master program,” she noted. The rest of the cohort joins the class online from around the world – something you can do as well next year!
In 2025, an additional option was introduced to take the course as part of the aforementioned Lifelong Learning program at CTU and earn a micro certificate recognized in the EU, which is also attractive for industry professionals.
Over 14 weeks, participants learn about topics such as system penetration testing, web attack mechanisms, and strategies to defend against online threats. Lessons also focus on system hardening and monitoring techniques, intrusion detection (IDS), and the use of artificial intelligence in these areas. Valuable knowledge is gained not only by students from various universities but also by IT professionals and individuals considering a career in the field. It is a hands-on course from zero to hero, where students attack and defend in a protected environment.
More than 3000 students have completed the course since 2017.
Photo credit: Petr Neugebauer
