On Friday, April 1, the LUISS School of Government launched a new executive course in Digital Revolution and Cybersecurity to offer advanced training in the latest technologies to public managers charged with national security.
Offered in collaboration with the Council of Minister’s Agenzia per l’Italia Digitale (AgID), the course consists of seven modules including lectures and practical exercises with instructors, experts and technical staff from participating companies such as Finmeccanica, Unipol, Bv Tech, Ids and Microsoft.
“Cybersecurity is an ever more important theme,” says Raffaele Marchetti, professor of International Relations and academic coordinator of the SoG program. “It is a problem that involves all sectors, from the private world to public administration. For some, it is currently the largest threat to security in the world, even more serious than terrorism or nuclear armament in terms of economic costs.”
Thanks to a partnership between public and private sectors that involves institutions like AgID and the five companies financing the project, the course takes on the problem of digital security using a transversal approach. “Many instructors are also high-level directors from the public sector, while the case studies analyzed during the course involve experts from private firms. Furthermore, selected sessions include testimony from important international organizations including the European Union, the United Nations and NATO. The course has sparked such interest that we have increased the number of expected participants.”
“This course marks the first important educational initiative for public employees in Italy,” comments LUISS General Manager Giovanni Lo Storto. “The goal was to create a community of public administration directors, dedicated to national digital security. Institutions have been enthusiastic about deepening and updating their knowledge in governance and laws regarding cybersecurity. Initial feedback from participants has been extremely positive, demonstrating that there was truly space for this sort of initiative.”