The department brings together research in cybersecurity and secure software systems into two sections and highlights at the same time the role of the engineer in society.
The world is changing rapidly with digitalization and thus also the need for increased focus on digital security. In the future, two research sections “Cybersecurity Engineering” and “Software Systems Engineering” at DTU Compute will lead the research within these areas.
The latter section is a merger of the previous sections “Software and Process Engineering” and “Formal Methods”, where the employees have moved together to combine their expertise.
Similarly, the former cybersecurity section has been expanded with people from other parts of the department researching the same topic.
Cybersecurity Engineering
Cybersecurity Engineering focuses on the methods, processes, and tools for the design, development, and analysis of secure computing systems that are accessible through a network, typically the Internet. The section also educates new generations of engineers, scientists, and IT professionals.
Cybersecurity is a strategic research area for DTU Compute and DTU.
“Our vision is that we will soon be the most important cybersecurity research section at a Danish university. In the long run, we wish to be one of the elite research groups for cybersecurity engineering in Europe. We have just started, but we are already in full swing", says Professor Nicola Dragoni, who has been appointed Head of Section.
Software Systems Engineering
The newly established section Software Systems Engineering conducts research in the areas of software engineering, programming languages, security, and formal methods to solve current and future scientific and societal challenges – and educates new generations of scientists and engineers in the construction of reliable software systems.
The section shares the same national and international ambitions as Cybersecurity Engineering.
“Software is an essential component of digitalization, and its role is becoming more and more prevalent. Our digital society needs reliable software that is constructed with scientific and technical principles and aligned with society's values and expectations. For many years, researchers in the sections for Formal Methods and Software and Process Engineering have looked at the same topic from different angles. The development of the field and the complexity of the societal and scientific challenges has made it increasingly important to build strong research units to draw on each other's knowledge and become even better at addressing those challenges,” says Professor and Head of Section Alberto Lluch Lafuente.
The role of the engineer in society
"In the long run, we wish to be one of the elite research groups for cybersecurity engineering in Europe."
Professor and Head of Section Nicola Dragoni
The names of the two new sections also contain the word 'engineering' to mark the role of engineering in the development of society.
“E.g., many companies today work with cybersecurity as consultants or offer various services in the field. At DTU, we design and develop systems based on security, analyze protocols and see if they are secure or not. So our approach is engineering, and now we emphasize it in the section names, ”says Professor, Head of Department Per B. Brockhoff.
Both sections are currently hiring new faculty members to strengthen and expand their expertise.