Dr. Tony Coulson is currently a professor and the Executive Director of the Center for Cyber and AI at California State University, San Bernardino. Having a well-earned reputation in industry and academia, he has won numerous awards, grants, and accolades for his innovative approaches in education and leadership in the cybersecurity and technology fields.
Prior to his career in academia, Dr. Coulson was an entrepreneur, starting three companies before the age of 20 and a computer school when he was 14 years old. He also had a successful career as an executive and CIO. His industry collaborations included long-term consulting with a Fortune 500 semi-conductor company, pioneering work on knowledge management. An expert in workforce technology initiatives, Dr. Coulson led research and redesign of the international training strategy for one of the top five ERP vendors.
Since moving to academia in 2001, he has worked hard to innovate and provide new opportunities for students. In 2008, Dr. Coulson was awarded a national Innovation in Teaching and Learning award for his work in changing learning labs. He firmly believes in an interdisciplinary approach to technology education and has used that passion to make California State University, San Bernardino a recognized leader in cybersecurity.
As the Executive Director of the California State University, San Bernardino Center for Cyber and AI, Dr. Coulson has worked with industry and government to map out opportunities for students and cybersecurity strategies for the nation. As the lead of the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity Community, he coordinates over 450 NSA CAE designated colleges and universities. He runs multiple grant programs in excess of $80 million that provide specialized skills to the federal government including the DoD and private companies. In 2018, he became a member of a workforce development panel on the National Security Agency advisory board.
Tony has an M.B.A. with a concentration in Information Management from California State University, San Bernardino. He also holds a Ph.D. in Management Information Systems from Claremont Graduate University.
Proposes an ecosystem design approach to cyber security education spanning K-12, further, and higher education, with five design principles for inclusive and coherent pathway development illustrated through a Colorado case study.
A large-scale empirical mapping of 190 UK cyber security degree programmes against CyBOK Knowledge Areas, revealing substantial curriculum variation and examining the relationship between NCSC accreditation, coverage breadth, and graduate outcomes.
A guided walkthrough of the new NCSC Certified Degrees Web Portal, demonstrating how the online application process replaces the previous Word, Excel, Slack and email-based workflow. Attendees will gain a clear understanding of the next call cycle, key deadlines and submission requirements.
Bringing government, industry and academic stakeholders together, this panel-led workshop explores alignment and friction in addressing organisational and national interests in cyber resilience, building on CSE Connect and ICEC's international impact project investigating complex supply chain education.
Examines how an MSc Cyber Security programme can embed discipline-specific AI competencies drawing on the UNESCO AI Competency Framework, with case studies spanning CyBOK knowledge areas.
Introduces Nyata AI, a Bristol-based hyper-local conversational AI companion providing multilingual, safeguarding-aware cyber security education to underserved communities, positioning digital resilience as an inclusion challenge.
Proposes the Work Alignment Framework, a four-layer model establishing shared vocabulary and a Task by Capability mapping method to address the misalignment between educational credentials and the aptitudes required for effective cyber security practice.
Introduces the Trust Layer concept, arguing that psychological safety and neuroinclusive design function as security controls, with practical interventions for educators and organisations to build inclusive environments.
Demonstrates a live web-based generative AI tutor for network security that dynamically adjusts scaffolding support based on learner progress and interaction history, progressively fostering independent reasoning.
The National Cyber & Forensics Alliance (NCFA) is a UK-founded, student-led initiative bringing together cybersecurity and digital forensics students and societies from across the world. Through connections with industry, partners, and international peers, NCFA creates opportunities for collaboration beyond individual universities. Supported by CSE Connect, the alliance enables access to shared resources, national and international events, Capture the Flag (CTF) competitions, and leadership development. Member societies remain fully independent, maintaining their own identity, structure, and branding while benefiting from a growing global student network.
An open forum in which representatives from across the CSE Connect Regional Hub network share what is happening across the network, shape priorities and responses collectively, and commit to actions that carry cyber ecosystem work forward.
Demonstrates Cyber Odds, a Blackjack-inspired gamification model for cyber security decision-making and risk management under uncertainty, enabling collaborative team-based scenarios.
