As part of her inaugural visit to the Ruhr-Universität Bochum on February 9, 2023, the Minister for Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ina Brandes, took her time to learn more about the Cybersecurity Hotspot Bochum. During her stopover in the "Open Work Space" at the Faculty of Computer Science, she gained an insight into current research topics and upcoming plans.
Bochum known for ITS research around the world
If it comes to excellent Cybersecurity Research, the Ruhr Area is nowadays well known all over the world. Achievements like the participation of Bochum scientists in the final algorithms of the NIST standardization competition for post-quantum cryptography or the many successful spin-offs in the field of IT security are just a few achievements that led to this reputation. This ecosystem of the Cluster of Excellence CASA, the newly founded Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy (MPI SP) and the Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security, attracts young talents due to great research conditions.
So Professor Christof Paar (Founding Director MPI SP/Spokesperson Cluster of Excellence CASA), Professor Eike Kiltz (Spokesperson Cluster of Excellence CASA) and Professor Tim Güneysu (Spokesperson Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security) were pleased to introduce this environment as well as their scientific work during the visit of the Minister of Science. In the following discussions, the participants - including members of the rectorate, ITS research and the ministry - had a lively exchange of ideas on the scientific conditions for excellent research.
Conditions for women in ITS
The CASA campaign "Women in ITS", where CASA scientists act as role models to make visible the variety of paths and opportunities in IT security - especially for women - was another topic. The resulting conversation focused on possible hurdles as well as existing opportunities for female scientists. Further information on equal opportunities and diversity at CASA can be found here.
General note: In case of using gender-assigning attributes we include all those who consider themselves in this gender regardless of their own biological sex.