Department of Cybersecurity and e-Government introduction

Shortly after the establishment of the National University of Public Service, the Institute for Development of e-Public Services of the Faculty of Public Administration was set up, which dealt with the teaching and research of information technologies and e-government. Within this framework, the Department of Information Security was established in 2014, which, based on Act L of 2013 on the electronic information security of state and local government bodies, provided training for electronic information security managers in order to ensure legal compliance, and operated as an independent department until 2016. The former institute and departments merged and continued their activities under the name Institute of E-Government.

The increasing number of cyberattacks with global impact and the need to address the shortage of information security professionals in the public sector led to the creation of the NUPS Cybersecurity Academy, whose stated goal was to launch university-level cybersecurity training programs that would produce highly skilled professionals to fill labor shortages primarily in public administration and the private sector.

In August 2019, with the establishment of the Faculty of Public Governance and International Studies, the Department of Public Management and Information Technology was formed by merging the fields of information technology and public administration, becoming the largest and most diverse organizational unit of the faculty at that time. The Department's mission was to teach and research issues related to the organizational, managerial, and operational dogma and efficiency of public administration, management and organizational science, public management, and public service development management (central, regional, local). The Department focused on teaching and researching local government and local area development. The Department's task is to research and teach digital governance, data protection and freedom of information, as well as the relationship between public administration information systems – and, in a broader sense, information and communication technologies – and public service.

In 2020, a Hungarian-language master's program in cybersecurity was launched, which is one of the main focuses of our department. The program embodies the spirit of the National University of Public Service, as lecturers from various faculties and institutes of our university work closely together to develop students' cybersecurity organizational skills.

Cooperation is not only outstanding in the field of education; our instructors consider talent management and working with students to be a priority, which regularly involves them in research projects. As a result, our students have won numerous domestic and international cyber competitions in recent years, and theses focusing on cyber security regularly achieve outstanding results at institutional and national scientific student conferences.

In order to strengthen the field of cybersecurity and support new educational tasks, the university management established an independent Department of Cybersecurity on February 1, 2023, by separating it from the Department of Public Management and Information Technology, and two years later, five more colleagues from our department's predecessor joined us. With the integration of colleagues working in the fields of information technology in public administration and organizational and management science, our department took on the name Department of Cybersecurity and e-Government.

The Department is responsible for teaching and researching cybersecurity regulations and standards, risk management, the application of security technologies, cybersecurity strategy and management, management and organizational science, security and quality management, as well as other areas related to information security and cybersecurity. The Department is also responsible for teaching and researching the application of digital technologies in the field of governance, as well as researching and teaching the relationship between public administration information systems—and, in a broader sense, information and communication technologies—and public service. The Department also conducts intensive research activities. It participates in TKP and RRF projects and plays a leading role in investigating the applicability of XR technologies in public administration.

Our departmental colleagues offer four programs: a bachelor's degree in public administration, a master's degree in cybersecurity, a master's degree in International Cybersecurity Studies, and a professional development program in electronic information security management. Due to our practice-oriented education and research portfolio, the department is one of the most popular among students choosing topics for their theses, dissertations, and scientific student research groups, as well as among doctoral students.