Author: Rauno Pirinen (LAU)
Final triangulation analysis of EU-CIP project training and education outcomes revealed a clear understanding of the skills and competencies needed in the critical infrastructure domain. The analysis concluded that resilience is the most important of these competencies. Resilience refers to the ability of individuals or organizations to adapt and recover from challenges and setbacks through training and learning processes, or even to rebuild new and improved situations—particularly in cases of disruption to critical infrastructure and cybersecurity. This can be described as the ability to “bounce back” through anticipation and experimentation in training, the development of appropriate training and learning pathways, and the capacity to persevere and continue learning and practicing despite difficulties and obstacles.
An important aspect is preparing individuals and organizations to remain agile and responsive to changing or rebuilding circumstances, while continuing training, learning, and expanding the body of knowledge, such as through the EU-CIP Knowledge Hub (EU-CIP KH) for resilience in the face of adversity and difficulties. Embracing failure as an opportunity for growth, improvement, or rebuilding is essential for effective implementation. Rather than viewing failures as setbacks, training and learning objectives should focus on turning them into opportunities for improvement, lessons learned, and knowledge development, thereby strengthening future pathways. Maintaining a positive mindset and spirit within the training–learning environment is also crucial for coherence and effective leadership and management.
The replication highlights that the most effective training–learning–recovery environment (learning system) is supportive, collaborative, and federated, while encouraging anticipation–experimentation cycles and responsible risk-taking. Such an environment builds adaptability, adoptability, and flexibility in response to changing circumstances, allowing training and learning themes and strategies to be adjusted accordingly. The flow of learning is about “building the skills, competencies, action capabilities, and proactive mindset needed to overcome obstacles and to continue learning and growing in the face of adversity or difficulty.” In this way, fostering a culture of training and learning, enhancing federated response capabilities for the unexpected, and strengthening the body of knowledge (EU-CIP KH) enables individuals and organizations to better navigate the challenges of an increasingly complex, dynamic, and demanding world.
This analysis enhanced the understanding of curriculum, module, and syllabus design, highlighting the need for flexibility, mutability, elasticity, and resilience. These qualities are valuable for training and learning processes, both in the actualization of study units and training courses through their adaptable nature, and in supporting alternative learning paths and support to creativity. This is especially important for integrating students into international R&D&IA themes and preparing them to learn in response to global and national shifts and unexpected targets. The “elastic nature” of training and learning objectives contributes to improvements in satisfaction, atmosphere, mutual trust, confidence, and attitudes toward learning. The complexity of training and learning orientations and pathways is illustrated below.
