Intelligent Critical Infrastructure Systems University of Cyprus

Critical infrastructures are assets or systems, which are essential for the maintenance of vital societal functions. The principal examples are electric power systems, water distribution networks, telecommunication networks, and transportation systems. Without these, other basic infrastructures (e.g., banking, hospitals, schools, tourism, etc.) cannot operate as intended. Critical infrastructures provide the foundation on which communities are built and, when properly functioning, they enable economic growth and social well-being.

As urbanization increases, critical infrastructures worldwide are expanding and are becoming more complex, necessitating greater efficiency and improved capabilities in order to sustain their effective operation. Equipment failures are also occurring more frequently as large segments and components of critical infrastructures become old and outdated. Such failures may lead to serious degradation in performance or, even worse, to cascading overall system failure and breakdown. Moreover, the safety and security of critical infrastructure systems against malicious attacks (such as denial-of-service) and natural disasters are becoming crucial issues for citizens, businesses, and governments who expect that these infrastructures will provide uninterrupted service 24/7 and under any circumstances. Unexpected events can also occur (accidents, earthquakes etc.) which create emergency conditions requiring immediate response to prevent fatalities and limit damages.

The problem of monitoring, control, management and security of Critical Infrastructures Systems (CIS) will become even more challenging in the future. Whereas 49% of the world population currently lives in urban areas, it is predicted that by 2050 around 64% of the developing world and 86% of the developed world will be urbanized. However, existing critical infrastructures were not designed to accommodate such enormous demands. Moreover, due to wide-ranging deregulation, the use of renewable energy and a massive expansion of wireless communications, critical infrastructures, as well as the associated data, software and management systems, are becoming increasingly more heterogeneous, distributed, and inter-dependent making the seamless integration of all components that make up the CIS an immense challenge requiring special research attention.

The main objective of the MSc in Intelligent Critical Infrastructure Systems (CIS) program is to teach highly innovative methods, tools, and technologies for the monitoring, control, management, and security of CIS for a competent workforce that will be recruited by local and regional authorities and international companies seeking to make CIS more reliable, safe, resilient, efficient, and sustainable. In addition, the program is designed to transfer knowledge on the research and innovation challenges faced by modern CIS and cultivate student interest in pursuing a career path in research and innovation. Doing so, it is expected to contribute to the transformation of the research and innovation culture of Cyprus and the Mediterranean-Middle East region. The program is open to students from different technical backgrounds, spanning the different areas of science and engineering. The language of instruction is English.

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