Sharing expertise with the next generation of security experts is an important part of our mission. That is why our colleagues are regularly involved in teaching partnerships with German universities. We are very happy that this commitment is appreciated by the students: The Computer Science Student Council of the TU Darmstadt awarded our colleague Maximilian Müller the prize for the best lecture in the winter semester 2022/23 for his course Information Security Management.
Every year, the Department of Computer Science at TU Darmstadt awards prizes for the "Best Teaching" and the "Best Counseling" as part of the colloquium at the department. The awards are based on questionnaires that are filled out each semester by students and evaluated by the departmental council with the help of the Hochschuldidaktische Arbeitsstelle (HDA).
Last week Maximilian Müller received his award. On this occasion, we asked him some questions about his commitment as a lecturer for information security.
Max, you've been involved in teaching at universities for years. Why is that so important to you?
First of all, I noticed that the topics we deal with as consultants, but also as employees in the management of information security, are underrepresented in our universities. So I wanted to fill this gap with my lecture. And secondly, I also really enjoy teaching and working with students.
What does it mean to you to have received a "Best Teaching" award directly from the Student Council?
I am really excited to have received this award. It shows me above all that commitment in teaching is valued by students. Also, the feedback I received during the "Evaluation of Teaching" was really helpful and will be incorporated into the lecture for the coming semesters.
I would also like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the Computer Science Student Council, who (among many other things) organize the entire "Evaluation of Teaching" and the award ceremony on a voluntary basis! Both I and many other lecturers benefit a lot from their work!
Do you have the impression that topics such as information security are sufficiently covered in the curricula of German universities?
That actually varies a lot. I have already met students from other universities and schools who have dealt more with topics related to organizational and procedural information security in their studies. At TU Darmstadt, on the other hand, almost all courses from the IT security area deal with either technical or formal IT security. There are sometimes minor overlaps between my course and other courses, but on the whole the lecture has filled a gap.
Will you continue to teach at universities in the future?
Of course! I will continue to teach the course "Information Security Management" in the winter semester at the TU Darmstadt.
