Amid rapid advancements in cybersecurity and anticipating breakthroughs in emerging and disruptive technologies, there is an urgent need to raise societal awareness of cybersecurity. A lack of understanding and knowledge about cybersecurity poses cross-sectoral challenges for businesses. Unfiltered data access and the unrestricted sharing of information online create new, easily exploitable attack surfaces for cybercriminals. Therefore, integrating cybersecurity into school education is essential to foster competency development as a foundation for professional life.

Building on existing initiatives in Austria to promote cybersecurity awareness (e.g., Digital Education), the primary goal of CLEMENTINE is to create an educational, societal, and socio-technical framework for teaching cybersecurity to 14- to 19-year-olds, with a specific emphasis on workforce readiness and professional skills. This goal is pursued through the following three objectives:

• Objective 1: Mapping key stakeholders for cybersecurity competency development in secondary education in Austria: CLEMENTINE systematically identifies relevant stakeholders from schools, administration, and industry in Austria (e.g., educational providers, school organizations, associations, and interest groups) to create an overview of the key players. This overview serves as the foundation for establishing networking and communication structures among stakeholders, supporting educational policy and pedagogical discourse for implementing cross-school cybersecurity competency initiatives for 14- to 19-year-olds.
• Objective 2: Identifying workforce-relevant cybersecurity topics and curriculum linkages in secondary education: Cybersecurity themes are identified based on scientific research and labor market perspectives, focusing on minimum requirements for professional entry. Key content areas for acquiring basic cybersecurity competencies are derived from this analysis.
• Objective 3: Developing exemplary didactic concepts for teaching cybersecurity topics in secondary education in Austria: Based on curriculum and material reviews and the current state of research, CLEMENTINE creates prototype didactic frameworks for teaching formats tailored to selected school types (e.g., academic secondary schools, vocational schools, and technical colleges) and teaching-learning contexts (e.g., use of digital media, teaching methods). The proposed concepts align with existing educational frameworks (e.g., Digital Education) and explore opportunities and limitations for integrating and adapting content in response to the dynamic nature of cybersecurity, driven by technological advancements such as AI and new forms of cyberattacks.

The objectives are achieved through desk research on stakeholders, educational materials, and didactic concepts, as well as interviews with experts in the fields of cybersecurity, education systems, administration, and the labor market, along with focus groups with students, working groups, and stakeholder workshops.

Project Lead
Stephanie Schwarz, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH

Partners
Österreichisches Institut für angewandte Telekommunikation ÖIAT
Future Learning Lab Wien (Associated partner)

Contact
Stephanie Schwarz
Giefinggasse 2 | 1210 Vienna | Austria
T +43 50550-4533 | M +43 664 88964933 | F +43 50550-4599
stephanie.schwarz(at)ait.ac.at
www.ait.ac.at