Relying on the already existing courses, laboratories, and equipment, new course content and learning methods were developed through collaboration. The principle was to foster innovation, creativity, knowledge exchange, and multidisciplinary teaching and learning. This initiative addressed the knowledge gaps for students aiming to pursue professional careers in Reliability and Hardware Security. These gaps included, for instance, the skills of hardware security and reliability experts who define and evaluate secure and reliable products, as well as the skills of hardware and software designers responsible for designing them. The objectives of this project were: i) the collective work of professors from partner universities, which led to the enhancement of existing courses and the integration of some course/module/program content; ii) the sharing and co-development of laboratories, providing students with opportunities to participate in more specialized experiments; iii) the upskilling of students by training them with realistic systems. Achieving these objectives brought forward innovative ideas and led to projects that further attracted the interest of industry.
The European Master Network on Embedded System Security (EMNESS) project was an initiative of a group of European universities (University of Freiburg, University of Stuttgart, Polytechnic University of Torino, University of Grenoble Alpes, University of Piraeus, Polytechnic University of Catalonia) with the goal of structuring innovative academic curricula on Reliability and Hardware Security by exchanging expertise in these fields. Prioritizing the use of digital technology, knowledge transfer within an interconnected and interdependent higher education system was the main objective of this project. Professors aimed to work collectively to address skill mismatches and fill knowledge gaps, shaping a new generation of highly skilled engineers in Reliability and Hardware Security. As a result, this Cooperation Partnership benefited both students and professors, generating innovative ideas that led to new projects and attracted the interest of industry.