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The Texas Cybersecurity Clinic is a two-semester sequence that first equips students with the technical and business skills of an entry-level cybersecurity analyst (semester 1) and then partners them in (supervised) teams with a small local business, municipal government, nonprofit to render pro bono cybersecurity services (semester 2). During the first semester, students will learn key cybersecurity defense concepts and skills, such as vulnerability assessment, network configuration and security, access controls, authorization techniques, responding to a cyberattack, business planning, and penetration testing. Students will also learn how to form an effective cybersecurity operations team and communicate with organization and business leaders and employees about essential cybersecurity controls and functions. By the conclusion of this course, students will be prepared to work within their assigned teams to assess, design, and render a cybersecurity improvement project plan for their client organization next semester.

The Texas Cybersecurity Clinic is a two-semester sequence that first equips students with the technical and business skills of an entry-level cybersecurity analyst (semester 1) and then partners them in (supervised) teams with a Central Texas-based small business, municipal government, or nonprofit to render pro bono cybersecurity services (semester 2). During the first semester, students will learn key cybersecurity defense concepts and skills, such as vulnerability assessment, network configuration and security, access controls, authorization techniques, responding to a cyberattack, business planning, and penetration testing. Students will also learn how to form an effective cybersecurity operations team and communicate with organization leaders and employees about essential cybersecurity controls and functions. During the second semester, students work within their assigned teams to assess, design, and render a cybersecurity improvement project plan for their designated client organization, building cybersecurity capacity and bolstering the client organization’s ability to recover from a cyber incident long-term.

What does it really mean to be user-centered? How do we practice user-centered design in a professional and methodical manner? What research findings can we rely on to help us improve user experiences? This is a readings/discussion course that examines in depth what we know about people (that is, what does scientific research actually tell us) and how can we apply this knowledge in the real-world of experience design. We examine human psychology, from physical ergonomics to cultural dispositions, stopping off on cognition and social analyses en route, so as to have a holistic, robust perspective on what it means to understand users. The readings are complemented with an examination of methods e.g., what is a cognitive walkthrough and how do you do it reliably? what are the limitations of heuristic evaluations? The goal is to give you a solid grounding in the practices of user-centered thinking, regardless of your area of application, and prepare you for professional level contributions in the user-experience world. There is no teamwork, all students deliver individual term papers and design critique diaries. There are also no pre-requisites -- technical or theoretical, the class is open to all.