Part 2 of a multi-part series on why you should avoid Msc. Applied Cybersecurity at Queen’s University Belfast, collaboratively written by students on the course.
CSIT Cybersecurity Summit
Queen’s would have you believe that students are invited to the CSIT Cybersecurity Summit as one of the advantages of going to Queen’s University Belfast. It does in fact say so very clearly on QUB’s website:
In the student handbook:
The programme brochure:
QUB have even produced a promotional video which reiterates the point:
However, this year students were very much not invited. The reason given when asked was limited capacity:
The summit itself has extremely limited capacity in parts (i.e. not even room for staff) so access to everything is not possible. However, I hope to confirm access to additional events closer to the time. — Kieran McLaughlin, Programme Director.
So it would then seem that students are invited unless there are more deserving people in attendance; i.e. anyone who isn’t a student. Not long after, in response to queries, the school changed its stance to:
if anyone is in ECIT on 9–10 May they are welcome to attend keynotes, provided there is room in the Seminar Room. Be aware it will be particularly busy during the opening addresses on the 9th. — Kieran McLaughlin, Programme Director.
Which is still quite a cry from being invited. This kind of conditional invitation is substantially different from what the website, student handbook, and promotional video advertises — students are now only welcome subject to them not taking up any space which someone more important might want.
After following-up with previous students, we can confirm that this is not the first time that students were not invited.
The very least that can be said about this is that the increase in fees of £7,100 since 2016 clearly does not come with it any guarantee that students will be invited to these events, despite marketing materials and staff claiming students are invited, as students were invited in previous years, being invited apparently is not guaranteed.
Next in the series:
Inherent problems with the Block Teaching Model.
