- The support from the teachers is clearly the best thing about studying at Noroff, says Cecilie.
The bachelor's degree in digital forensics teaches students to conduct investigations involving digital evidence. A new version of the programme has recently been launched, Digital Forensics and Incident Response, starting in August 2024.
This year's student survey, Studiebarometeret, showed that Digital Forensics students are very satisfied with the programme and the structure of the teaching. We spoke with two of the students at the campus in Kristiansand, Cecilie Wessel Pete and Christoffer Michaelsen, who have both just completed their bachelor's theses. They describe a good learning environment, good support from lecturers and industry-related teaching.
- Digital forensics is a very educational programme, with a good combination of theory and practical work. You learn a little bit of everything within the industry, while there is a strong focus on digital forensics, says Cecilie.
The programme puts theory into practice through competitions, digital escape rooms, case scenarios and quizzes.
- The teaching is organised in a way that I think suits most people, with opportunities for both physical and online presence during lectures and seminars, adds Christoffer.
Good support from teachers
Both Christoffer and Cecilie praise the good support they receive from their teachers.
You really feel that they care about you and want you to succeed. Cecilie Wessel Pete
- There's always support available and the teachers check almost every day to see if there's anything they can help us with. It is easy to get in touch and you really feel that they care about you and want you to succeed, says Cecilie.
- They are accessible, committed and highly competent in their fields. Outside of lectures and seminars, they are never further away than a quick message or post on Teams. They also often drop by the computer lab to help physically, says Christoffer.
- What's the most exciting thing you've learnt so far on the programme?
- Definitely everything to do with digital forensics. The way the topics are presented, together with the associated tasks, makes the topics related to digital investigation very interesting. It's also been fun to be able to work on a topic of my own choice for my bachelor's thesis, says Cecilie.
- The most exciting things I've learned so far are probably related to what I'm writing my bachelor's thesis on, which is malware analysis. A lot of it is not covered in the curriculum in other subjects, and I've had to learn a lot by reading the relevant literature and researching relevant methods and topics, says Christoffer.
Focuses on practical skills
Programme Manager, Veronica Schmitt, says she is very happy that the results of this year's student survey show that the students are very satisfied.
– Our combination of industry experience and academic expertise makes our teaching both interesting and relevant. This ensures that our students are well prepared to meet the demands of the digital forensics industry.
Veronica explains that while they offer traditional teaching methods such as lectures and practical exercises, they are also experimenting with new approaches to engaging and evaluating students.
– The programme uses a variety of teaching methods to create an engaging learning environment. We focus on integrating practical, industry-relevant skills and tailor our teaching to both on-campus and online students, she says.
– An example of this is our use of game-based learning to teach file system analysis, which allows students to learn about file systems through interactive games. We have also developed an HTML-based hospital game to teach them about researching new technologies such as medical devices, she continues.
We focus on integrating practical skills that are relevant to the industry. Veronica Schmitt
📷: Programme Manager, Veronica Schmitt. Photo: Elisabeth Larsen.
The dream job
Now it's time for graduates Cecilie and Christoffer to enter the industry, and they both dream of a career in digital forensics.
- I would like to work in intelligence and build on the knowledge I have acquired from my bachelor's thesis, or in Kripos with more police-oriented work, says Christoffer.
- My big dream is to be able to work for and contribute to the important social missions of the Kripos, PST or Økokrim. Working within the police in one way or another has always been my dream and the reason why I chose to study digital forensics, says Cecilie.
Bachelorgraden i Digital Forensics and Incident Response is available in Kristiansand, via Online Studies and Online PLUS Oslo and Bergen.
