
“The students get a solid background in many different technical areas”
Elpidoforos Arapantonis has recently graduated from the Information Security Master Programme. He works at Volvo Cars Corporation in Göteborg as a Solution Architect at the Active Safety Department.
What do you do at work?
“When it comes to the day-to-day tasks, I am focusing on the cyber security part of Autonomous Driving and Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems from active safety point of view.”
What is the best thing about your job?
“Automotive industry is currently in the spotlight. At the R&D department, we are creating technical solutions where we try to solve very challenging engineering problems of the future. If I had to name one very challenging task, this shall be Autonomous Driving. It is also worth mentioning that the international collaborative environment and the day-to-day contact with cutting-edge technology are adding up on having fun at work!”
When you look back at the Master programme in Information Security, what was the most important thing you learned?
“I can point to various technical aspects that you acquire during your studies, but, I feel that something else is more important. As far I have completed a distance Master programme, I can certainly say that, it helped me enhance my collaboration skills. By having group assignments with classmates from different countries and different time zones, makes the collaboration part challenging but also very fun!”
Overall, in what way did the programme prepare you for a career in the information security business?
“The programme gives the students a solid background in many different technical areas. During the studies, we build a solid theoretical background around computer, internet and network security. In order to enhance the practical skills, we had a lot of labs where we had to fulfil a series of hands-on assignments. Furthermore, we have investigated the most recent trends in information security, and we learned the importance of risk analysis in the information security context.”
Do you have an advice for anyone who is considering to study at the Master programme in Information Security?
“I have one simple advice, do it! The one thing that I like the most in the information security area is that things are changing all the time. If you study information security you will manage to develop your skills in an area which is very popular and has a great potential professionally.”
Anything else you’d like to add?
“As a distance student I didn’t get the full Luleå University of Technology experience. But I traveled to Luleå in order to present my Master thesis at the university (it was not mandatory). Looking back now I can say that it was a very nice experience and I can propose this to other students. Of course it might be a bit complicated, but it is a unique experience to visit the place where “great ideas, grow better below zero”, the motto of Luleå University of Technology.”
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