Frequently asked questions

MOOC?

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are as the name says they open, free, and online. You do not have to care about course fees, not on this MOOC anyway. You do not have to care about commute as you can do it where you are as long as you have Internet connectivity. You do not have to care about schedules, well you have a start and end dates but between them it is upto you when you do the tasks.

Is the course series free?

Yes.

How many students can attend?

There is no limit how many students can take part.

How many hours of work should I be prepared to put in?

This will vary from person to person. But students should expect to spend 2-10 hours per week on the course.

Are there any prerequisites for registering?

No, there are no formal requirements. But a basic understanding of coding, networks, and cyber security are needed to follow some of the course material. You are of course welcome to register without this background knowledge, but you’ll need to put in extra time learning these things if you want to complete all parts of the course.

I want to learn more about cyber security, but I’m not looking to become a cyber security specialist. Will parts of the course still be useful for me?

Yes! Thanks to digitalization, cyber security is an issue that cuts across different industries and professions, so the knowledge and skills people learn in the course can be applied in a wide variety of careers.

What’s a good language to learn if I don’t have any coding experience?

The second course requires Python knowledge. The third course can be done in any language, but Python is strongly recommended.

Generally speaking, Java and Python are both easy for beginners to learn, and fairly common. On the other hand, C/C++ can teach you more about how computers actually work, which can be useful for certain types of programming. So if you’re learning from scratch, you should consider what kind of work you want to do after the course ends.

Can I earn credits toward university degrees?

Students at Finnish universities can receive up to 10 ECTS credits if they complete all parts of the course. These credits can be transferred to schools outside of Finland (students have done so in the past), but this requires a little bit of additional paperwork and approval by the recipient school. Read carefully these instructions.

What kind of topics does the MOOC cover?

The MOOC addresses a range of topics that people need to know about to work in cyber security. These topics include: introductions to cyber security and operational security, web software development, types of vulnerabilities that are typical to web software, how such vulnerabilities are discovered and then mitigated, advanced topics such as secure software architectures and cryptography.

What do I learn on this course?

As in any MOOC, we acknowledged that learner autonomy is a major factor. Students effectively learn what they wish to learn, as they typically are not bound to the course through any official mechanism. The course consists of six parts described here.

Grading?

The grading is passed/failed.

Why isn’t the course graded yet?

We have a lot of students and grading takes time. Please be patient! To make things easier and faster use your real name, email, and student number when registering to TMC.

What kind of assignments does the course include?

Readings, essays, quizzes, and puzzles are used in different modules. Some modules include projects and programming assignments for students to work on. There will also be a competition where students find and fix vulnerabilities within an allotted amount of time.

What does it take to get passed?

It depends on the course part. The criteria can be like the following: "In order to pass the course one had to pass both of the essays and 2/3 of the reviews. Some essays were rejected for being too short, for not containing deep enough discussion or for being flagged too many times as spam during the peer review."

How do I show someone I have passed a course part?

You get an online certificate (you can print it if you like).

Where do I get the certificate?

Certificates will be available later.

How do I get the ECTS?

Read carefully these instructions.

How soon should I ask the registration of the ECTS to WebOodi?

As soon as you receive the registration instructions. The registration closes after certain period of time.

Can I get the ECTS registered in my home university if I do not study in Finland?

It is possible and it has been done. Sometimes extra paper work is needed. It really depends on the University in question. We suggest discussing with your local study counselor beforehand.

Can I get an extension to the deadlines or can I get some extra work to make up the lack of doing the tasks on time?

This pops up regularly and the answer is no. No extensions, No extra work.

Is it possible for me to catch up if I join the course after it begins or miss part of it?

Yes. The course consists of different modules, and they can be taken independently. So if you miss one module or don’t finish it for some reason, you can still take the others. But do remember that If you study at University of Helsinki CS department and need the TKT20009 or CSM13204 course you need to complete the modules within a year, otherwise the modules are not accepted automatically.

Is there going to be a CTF again?

Yes. There will be a CTF with new puzzles.