SSRI online : first experiences in a three-years course degree offered in e-learning at the University of Milan (Italy)

This paper is aimed at presenting SSRI online: an e-learning initiative started at the University of Milan (Italy) for the academic year 2004/05. The initiative consisted in offering an already existing three-years academic degree course (“laurea in Sicurezza dei Sistemi e delle Reti Informatiche - SSRI”: a post-bachelor course on security of computer systems and networks) not only in the “traditional” way (mainly based on classroom lectures and labs) but also online. Main aspects discussed in the following sections are: • the players of the initiative and their roles; • the adopted teaching model; • the technological solutions identified and/or implemented to support the initiative; • the characteristics of the student population choosing SSRI online; • the first results obtained after almost one year.