Cyber security has evolved beyond a purely technical field and now poses business, regulatory and societal risks. Óbuda University addresses these challenges by emphasizing foundational knowledge, systems thinking and hands-on skills in its cyber security engineering program, updating the curriculum every semester and involving industry practitioners to keep teaching current.
Rajnai Zoltán, General Vice-Rector of Óbuda University and head of the Doctoral School of Security Sciences, says the aim is not for students to learn only the technologies that are currently popular—those can become obsolete in a few years—but to develop adaptability and systems-level problem solving. Industry partners bring day-to-day experience and concrete technologies into the classroom, enabling rapid curriculum updates in response to new attack techniques and defense methods.
Practice-focused program structure
In the cyber security engineering bachelor’s program at Óbuda University, the mix is roughly 40% theory and 60% practice. Students work on project assignments from their first semester: initially individually, then in small and later larger teams. The training aims to teach teamwork, interdisciplinary cooperation and how to design working solutions for real systems.
Students regularly simulate a cyber security company. In 20–30 person teams they design environments such as cyber ranges, Security Operations Centers (SOC) or intrusion detection systems based on artificial intelligence; they plan hardware, network structures and virtual budgets, and prepare proposals for imagined clients. Implementation then follows on paper: servers, routers, switches and firewalls are connected, and open-source or university-licensed software is installed.
The university stresses that it does not train hackers, but ethical practitioners capable of defense. Learning the attacker’s mindset is still essential: a system can be defended effectively only when the likely attack directions and methods are understood.
How AI changes attack and defense
Artificial intelligence appears on both sides. Attackers already use AI to generate phishing emails or to support attack workflows. At the same time, AI can significantly aid defense by analyzing logs, identifying attack patterns and triggering fast alerts. At Óbuda University, students design systems where AI agents monitor network events and support defense decision-making.
The goal is not to replace human experts but to reduce reaction times and free human capacity for more creative, complex tasks.
Labor market and regulatory pressures
Preparedness among companies is mixed. Regulations such as NIS2, GDPR and the financial-sector DORA push organizations to move beyond paper policies toward operational information security, auditing, incident response and risk management processes. Rajnai notes a common adage in cyber security: there are companies that have already been attacked, are being attacked now, or will be attacked in the future.
Demand for cyber security professionals is substantial. Past surveys indicated roughly 2,500 unfilled positions in Hungary related to cyber security. Graduates can find work in large companies, financial institutions, industrial firms, government organizations, online service providers, as consultants, auditors or external service providers.
Companies need technical experts (network defense, operations, vulnerability assessment, incident response) as well as specialists supporting audit, compliance and risk management.
Supplementary training and student opportunities
The university encourages students to acquire practical experience and professional certifications beyond the degree. Some companies offer internal auditor or other professional training specifically for students on favorable terms. Óbuda University also provides scholarships for project ideas, research and development assignments so motivated students can work on their own professional projects rather than unrelated part-time jobs. Projects can evolve into student research (TDK), theses, master’s dissertations or doctoral research and help to build future teaching capacity.
Digital security awareness as a basic skill
Cyber security is not only a specialist issue: attackers often target human weaknesses rather than systems. Óbuda University emphasizes that digital security awareness has become a basic competence—akin to financial literacy—and should be taught to children, students, adults and the elderly. Even the best defenses can be undermined by a single careless click, a pressured response, or a convincing fake message requesting personal or banking data. Public campaigns urge users to pause and think before clicking; in today’s digital environment, the aware user is the first line of defense.
The publication of this article was supported by Óbuda University.
Tags: university, information technology, cyber security, phishing, education, artificial intelligence, labor market, GDPR, NIS2, DORA, Óbuda University
