University of Nicosia establishes Institute of Public, Cyber and National Security (IPCNS)
The Institute offers multidisciplinary professional training in related fields under the prism of Security Convergence, guided by leading international figures
The University of Nicosia (UNIC) proudly announces the establishment of the Institute of Public, Cyber and National Security (IPCNS), a Centre of Excellence offering multidisciplinary professional training in Policing, Security and Investigation, Cybersecurity, National and International Security and Intelligence, as well as training in Forensic Psychology. The Institute was founded in 2019 by Mr Zacharias Chrysostomou, former Chief of Cyprus Police and Chair of the European Police College (CEPOL) during the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU.
Scope of the Institute
The global environment is ever changing, with issues surrounding public, cyber and national security becoming more and more complex. This means law enforcement agencies, intelligence services, governments, as well as academia and industry need to form innovative coalitions to meet the challenges ahead for the benefit of our communities, our democracies and our states.
To this end, the Institute of Public, Cyber and National Security has adopted an innovative, holistic approach, bringing together the whole spectrum of disciplines that contribute to public and national security. This is a multidisciplinary initiative that has drawn together distinguished current and former international leaders in the security field, world renowned academics and leading experts and practitioners – with the goal of better equipping tomorrow’s public and private leaders for an increasingly complex, fast-moving and technology-oriented security environment.
The overarching perspective of IPCNS is that both public and private institutions today face a blended security environment where the boundaries of public and national security have blurred. This trend of Security Convergence will accelerate as advanced technology develops further and democratizes. This creates significant challenges as practitioners in law enforcement, national security and corporate security have to manage both threats and stakeholders far outside their traditional responsibilities. In this light, a proper assessment and response to security risks requires a multidisciplinary approach and framework that crosses traditional silos of the security field.
Distinguished Members of the Advisory Board
We believe that IPCNS is the first university centre globally focused on Security Convergence. The overall strategy of the Institute is guided by the invaluable knowledge, expertise, and support of its Advisory Board, which is comprised of the following distinguished members: the Honorable former Director of the FBI, Mr Louie Freeh; the current Executive Director of the European Police College (CEPOL), Dr Detlef Schroeder; the current Executive Director of UK College of Policing, Chief Constable Mike Cunningham; and the Former Chief of Liverpool Police Service, Professor Sir Jon Murphey.
Professional Affiliations
The founding reasoning of the Institute of Public, Cyber and National Security lays in its ambition to promote the development of professionalism and professionalization within the broad fields of Public, Cyber and National and International Security and Intelligence, as well as to exert a strong influence on their development, contributing to the whole spectrum of security through research, teaching and professional training.
In this respect, one of IPCNS’s basic goals is to develop affiliations with International Criminal Justice, Law Enforcement, and Security Organisations and Institutes, as well as with relevant academic departments.
Partnership with Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU)
We are happy to announce that the University of Nicosia (UNIC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) delineating the collaboration between IPCNS and the Liverpool Centre for Advanced Policing Studies (LCAPS). This partnership has led the two academic institutions to jointly offer professional training courses in the field of Policing, Security and Investigation. We are currently exploring further collaborations with academic and professional institutions across Europe and the United States, to jointly offer innovative professional training in all fields that influence public and national security.
Courses Offered
The Institute of Public, Cyber and National Security is launching its first six online courses of paramount importance for public security and safety, to be offered as of 28 September 2020. Five additional courses will be offered in January 2021.These are the following:
Courses starting on 28 September 2020
- Police Leadership and Crises Management
- Terrorism Security and Policing
- Psychology of Criminal Behaviour
- Financial Investigation: Introduction to Money Laundering and Criminal Asset Recovery (offered jointly with LJMU)
- Police and the Media (offered jointly with LJMU)
- Digital Forensics and Cybercrime Investigation (offered jointly with LJMU)
Courses starting in January 2021
- The Psychology of Investigative Interviewing
- Offender Profiling and Behavioural Investigative Advice
- Security Management (offered jointly with LJMU)
- Evidence based Policing (offered jointly with LJMU)
- Forensic Investigation (offered jointly with LJMU)
The aforementioned courses fall in the disciplines of (a) Policing, Security and Investigation and (b) Forensic Psychology. IPCNS will soon also be offering Professional Certificate Courses in the fields of (c) Cybersecurity and (d) National and International Security and Intelligence.
Contact Information
IPCNS welcomes new institutional partners from academia, governments and industry for any relevant opportunities – teaching, research, and institutional training and development planning. If you believe there is an opportunity to work together, please contact us at [email protected] or visit our website at www.unic.ac.cy/securityinstitute/.
