TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Web Terrorism Course is Sellout With Security Pros

Web Terrorism Course is Sellout With Security Pros

Reuters News Wire (reuters@telecom-digest.org)
Mon, 30 Oct 2006 17:18:41 -0600

Security professionals from around the world have snapped up places
on a Scottish university's pioneering new terrorism course, which went
live on Monday via the Internet.

Organizers said some 140 people have so far signed up for the
University of St Andrews's Web-based "Certificate in Terrorism
Studies," with about half starting on Monday and bookings now running
into 2007.

Participants include police, military, coastguard and aviation
officials from Britain, Australia, Canada, Scandinavia and Thailand,
among other countries.

"A lot of the training they undergo is very operational -- which bag
to open, and so on. What they would like deepened is their background
understanding of what these (terrorist) movements are about -- the
modus operandi, the philosophy," said Oliver Gadsby of publishing and
training group Informa Plc, which launched the new course in
collaboration with St Andrews.

The venture, whose homepage is at www.terrorismstudies.com, is billed
as the first transnational e-learning course of its kind. It requires
about four hours of study each week and is designed to last 16 weeks.

Participants have the chance to contact leading academics and each
other, although Gadsby said it was possible some would not want to
disclose their real names.

"Some will be fully comfortable to share information. Others won't
want to, and it's entirely in the students' control," he said.

He did not rule out applications from the general public, but said all
candidates were carefully scrutinized for security reasons. "I'd
probably better not spell out what we do, but there is a vetting
process."

Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited.

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