SINGAPORE - Adult learners wanting to get a leg up in the burgeoning cybersecurity sector are being offered a new course launched by Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) Academy on Monday (June 18).

The ModularMasters (MM) programme in cybersecurity consists of skills-based modular courses that take between one and four days, each of which carries credits which can be accumulated for an MM certificate.

Students who gain this certificate can then choose to take up the SUTD's existing Master of Science in Security by Design degree, and use the certificate to offset subject credits in the degree course.

"SUTD Academy wanted to provide more flexible options and opportunities for working individuals and adults to upskill or reskill themselves," said Professor Pey Kin Leong, SUTD's associate provost of education at SUTD Academy and Digital Learning.

"Hence, we came up with the idea of the ModularMasters, which allows participants to stack up short modules that they can take up either out of interest or for reskilling purposes, and eventually allow them to obtain a certificate."

The programme will include interactive classroom sessions and projects. Each class will have a maximum of 25 students, who need to have some basic scientific or technical knowledge.

Each module will cost around $900 a day before subsidies, but these fees can be offset using SkillsFuture credits.

Students from other educational institutions can transfer relevant subject credits across to the MM cybersecurity course, which can take up to two years to complete.

Other new MM programmes in the pipeline at the SUTD include data analytics, artificial intelligence and design innovations.