Elisabeth Schäfer

What was the most valuable part of the summer school for you?

For me, the most valuable part of the summer school was getting to know people from a wide range of educational and cultural backgrounds. Working on the challenges with people who brought different skill sets and perspectives was a great opportunity to learn from and with each other. Working on Merlon Security’s challenge taught me a lot about technological sovereignty. Although the task was challenging at times, I felt supported by my team and our supervisor throughout the whole week, and I was very proud when we presented our product.

I also feel that I can always reach out to the people I met at ICSSS in the future without hesitation, because everyone got along really well.

What did the summer school bring you (knowledge, network, insight, etc.)?

Coming from a background in political science, I especially enjoyed learning about the technical aspects of cybersecurity. I had heard about post-quantum encryption before, but learning about its technical foundations both at NCIA and at HSD gave me a much deeper understanding of the importance of the topic.

I also really appreciated the well-balanced mix of participants at different academic and professional stages, as well as the diversity of cultural backgrounds. I always felt that my perspective was valued, even though I am at the beginning of my master’s degree. Several participants also pointed out the positive atmosphere among the students.

What would you say to someone who's on the fence about signing up?

As someone who was on the fence about signing up myself, I can tell you that – knowing what I know now – I would have really regretted not attending ICSSS. I learned so much about both topics within my own field, such as cybercrime, technological sovereignty, or geopolitics, and beyond it, including post-quantum encryption, OT, and business continuity. I also really enjoyed working on the challenges.

Before ICSSS, I was a bit worried that I would not have enough background knowledge in cybersecurity to fully understand everything, but the speakers did a really good job at making the lectures accessible to participants with different levels of prior knowledge.

Other highlights of my week included visiting NCIA and Europol and networking with professionals in the field of cyber governance.

I also really enjoyed the student networking events and getting to know everyone.

The HSD team took really good care of us throughout the week, providing us with everything from meals and smoothies to practical support and guidance.

What was the most valuable part of the summer school for you?

What did the summer school bring you (knowledge, network, insight, etc.)?

What would you say to someone who's on the fence about signing up?

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