Content of the studies
The major covers fundamental concepts, methods and the latest technologies on secure systems engineering, distributed application development, ubiquitous computing, network and service architectures, ubiquitous computing, and cloud and mobile computing platforms.
The studies are closely bound to the research conducted by the teachers, for example, on the Internet of Things, pervasive and ubiquitous computing, cloud platforms and services, mobile platform security, and network security. Special attention is paid to security and privacy issues as they are critical requirements in developing and deploying services in open networks and distributed systems.
The teaching methods combine theory with hands-on exercises and software development on mobile devices and cloud platforms.
As learning outcomes, the students of Security and Cloud Computing major will
- have the theoretical understanding of information security and practical skills necessary for designing and analyzing secure computing systems;
- understand the architectural principles of distributed services and applications.
They will also be able to design, analyse and implement distributed, mobile and cloud computing systems.
Structure of the studies
The Master's degree (120 ECTS) is composed of studies in the major (40-65 ECTS), possible minor (20-25 ECTS), elective studies (25-35 ECTS), and the Master's thesis (30 ECT). Elective studies may include a minor subject.
Students can select their minor either from the other majors in the Master's Programme in Computer, Communication and Information Sciences or from the other Master’s programmes offered by Aalto University. The elective studies can consists of an additional major courses, additional minor, multidisciplinary courses, or studies abroad.
See the Security and Cloud Computing curriculum on the student portal Into. Please note that there may be changes to the curriculum for 2020-2022. The new curriculum will be published in April-May 2020.
Thesis
Students are required to complete a Master's thesis, which is a research assignment with a workload corresponding to 30 ECTS credits. The topic of the thesis is agreed upon by the student and the supervising professor. Master's theses are typically written for a company or for one of the research projects of the department(s) in question.
Internationalisation
The study environment in the programme is strongly international, and studies are conducted in multicultural groups. The School of Science offers diverse possibilities for student exchange all over the world. Exchange studies can be included in the degree e.g. as an international minor. Students of the Security and Cloud Computing major have also the opportunity to take the second-year studies in ITMO University in St. Petersburg, Russia, and complete a double degree graduating from both Aalto University and ITMO.
Other possibilities for developing one’s global competence are e.g. conducting practical training abroad, taking a summer course abroad or acting as a tutor for first-year students.
Research focus
The topics of the major are linked to ongoing research focus areas in the Department of Computer Science at the Aalto University School of Science.
