The envisioned goal of the project is the introduction or strengthening of data protection and cybersecurity into higher education in order to support the digital transformation in Mozambique and South Africa.

The digital transformation is a challenge that all countries around the world must face. Developing countries such as Mozambique as well as emerging countries such as South Africa can particularly benefit from the upcoming changes: Digitalisation can be a successful accelerator to escape the poverty trap and reduce the gap between rich and poor. But it can also have the opposite effect and increase poverty and inequality. Above all, however, the handling of data protection and data security issues is not clarified here in many places. Digitalisation needs IT security and people who, based on data protection knowledge, can realistically assess the benefits and risks that accompany this transformation.

With the project "A Modular Higher Education System in Data Protection and Cybersecurity for Supporting the Digital Transformation in Mozambique and South Africa (ProCyD)", we want to support the people, the economy, civil society, academia, and political decision-makers of our partner countries in taking advantage of the opportunities of digital transformation, and mastering competent risks.

With a modular system of courses for students and lecturers of the partner universities, the project wants to make a significant contribution here in a pilot study. The plan is to design and implement a basic course on "Data Protection and Data Security", which can be offered to all students at the partner universities, and which also lays the foundation for differentiated courses in special fields of study, such as journalism or computer science. In addition, new study programmes at the master’s level will be developed. The master's programme will be tested in a pilot project for about 15 participants, which will include semesters abroad. This will create an initial pool of specialists as well as lecturers, which will ensure the sustainability of the project results.

Sustainable Development Goals

Masaryk University is committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which aim to improve the conditions and quality of life on our planet by 2030.