Intelligent Critical Infrastructure Systems

Specific Admission Requirements
The number of places available are announced by the Graduate School with the eligibility criteria for candidates, as well as other required documents that must be attached to the application such as:

• Bachelor’s degree from a recognised University.
• Previous University education in a suitable subject (academic background) and grades of relevant degrees.
• Letters of recommendation.
• Personal interview and/or written examination (if provided by the Department’s internal rules).
• Submission of preliminary research proposal for admission to a doctoral course (if provided by the Department’s internal rules).

The Department may also set additional criteria and quality indicators such as: (a) number of students’ publications in scientific journals, (b) students’ participation in seminars, symposia, research programmes, (c) presentations by students at conferences, (d) knowledge of foreign languages, and (e) professional experience, etc

Profile of Programme
Critical infrastructures are assets or systems, which are essential for the maintenance of vital societal functions. The principal examples are electric power systems, water distribution networks, telecommunication networks, and transportation systems. Without these, other basic infrastructures (e.g., banking, hospitals, schools, tourism, etc.) cannot operate as intended. Critical infrastructures provide the foundation on which communities are built and, when properly functioning, they enable economic growth and social well-being.

As urbanization increases, critical infrastructures worldwide are expanding and are becoming more complex, necessitating greater efficiency and improved capabilities in order to sustain their effective operation. Equipment failures are also occurring more frequently as large segments and components of critical infrastructures become old and outdated. Such failures may lead to serious degradation in performance or, even worse, to cascading overall system failure and breakdown. Moreover, the safety and security of critical infrastructure systems against malicious attacks (such as denial-of-service) and natural disasters are becoming crucial issues for citizens, businesses, and governments who expect that these infrastructures will provide uninterrupted service 24/7 and under any circumstances. Unexpected events can also occur (accidents, earthquakes etc.) which create emergency conditions requiring immediate response to prevent fatalities and limit damages.
The problem of monitoring, control, management and security of Critical Infrastructures Systems (CIS) will become even more challenging in the future. Whereas 49% of the world population currently lives in urban areas, it is predicted that by 2050 around 64% of the developing world and 86% of the developed world will be urbanized. However, existing critical infrastructures were not designed to accommodate such enormous demands. Moreover, due to wide-ranging deregulation, the use of renewable energy and a massive expansion of wireless communications, critical infrastructures, as well as the associated data, software and management systems, are becoming increasingly more heterogeneous, distributed, and inter-dependent making the seamless integration of all components that make up the CIS an immense challenge requiring special research attention.
The main objective of the MSc in Intelligent Critical Infrastructure Systems (CIS) program is to teach highly innovative methods, tools, and technologies for the monitoring, control, management, and security of CIS for a competent workforce that will be recruited by local and regional authorities and international companies seeking to make CIS more reliable, safe, resilient, efficient, and sustainable. In addition, the program is designed to transfer knowledge on the research and innovation challenges faced by modern CIS and cultivate student interest in pursuing a career path in research and innovation. Doing so, it is expected to contribute to the transformation of the research and innovation culture of Cyprus and the Mediterranean-Middle East region. The program is open to students from different technical backgrounds, spanning the different areas of science and engineering. The language of instruction is English.

Key Learning Outcomes
The program will result in students developing an understanding of the knowledge and a critical awareness of Intelligent CIS. Students will graduate with relevant and up-to-date knowledge that will allow them to find employment in the CIS industry or continue their studies at the PhD level.
When graduating from the program, students will have acquired the skills to:

• Deal with particular CIS challenges, understand the specific technical and management features, and the specific risks and security issues related to the considered CIS.
• Apply innovative ICT techniques to address monitoring, control, management, and security of CIS at the technical, managerial, and policy level.
• Conduct both theoretical and applied research contributing to the transformation of the research and innovation culture of Cyprus.

Occupational Profiles of Graduates with Examples
The new MSc program will build and accelerate the development of competent graduates to be recruited by local and regional authorities and international companies that deal with the operation of critical infrastructure systems such as electric power systems, telecommunication networks, transportation systems and water distribution systems. A significant portion of the graduates are expected to enter the local and European labor market with the capacity to substantially advance the capabilities of their organizations by leading academic excellence, transferring technologies to CIS operators, and innovating ICT products and services for economic and societal development.
Moreover, employment of ICT specialists in Europe has shown a significant growth over the last decade. Figures from Eurostat suggest that growth in the employment of ICT specialists averaged 3% over the ten-year period 2006-2015, more than eight times higher than the average growth rate for total employment over the same period [2].
It is envisaged that a number of graduates will also pursue an entrepreneurial pathway (through forming a start-up enterprise). A recent report on Entrepreneurship by GEM (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor) Cyprus shows an encouraging entrepreneurial intention and current activity in the country. Cyprus is ranked 3rd in Europe in terms of its Totally Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) index most of which is relevant to the ICT sector [3]. Through the KIOS CoE Entrepreneurial Network the necessary support and encouragement will be provided to help those interested in such a career path.