Research on China’s Innovative Cybersecurity Education System Oriented Toward Engineering Education Accreditation

Abstract

This study, based on engineering education accreditation standards, addresses the supply–demand imbalance in China’s cybersecurity talent cultivation by constructing a sustainable “education-industry-society” collaborative model. Through case studies at Huaihua University and other institutions, employing methods such as literature analysis, field research, and empirical investigation, we systematically explore reform pathways for an innovative cybersecurity talent development system. The research proposes a “three-platform, four-module” practical teaching framework, where the coordinated operation of the basic skills training platform, comprehensive ability development platform, and innovation enhancement platform significantly improves students’ engineering competencies (practical courses account for 41.6% of the curriculum). Findings demonstrate that eight industry-academia practice bases established through deep collaboration effectively align teaching content with industry needs, substantially enhancing students’ innovative and practical abilities (172 national awards, 649 provincial awards). Additionally, the multi-dimensional evaluation mechanism developed in this study enables a comprehensive assessment of students’ professional skills, practical capabilities, and innovative thinking. These reforms have increased the employment rate of cybersecurity graduates to over 90%, providing a replicable solution to China’s talent shortage. The research outcomes offer valuable insights for discipline development under engineering education accreditation and contribute to implementing sustainable development concepts in higher education.

1. Introduction

With the rapid development of information technology, the internet has not only brought convenience to people’s lives and work but also introduced unprecedented security challenges, including issues such as cyberattacks, data breaches, and cybercrime. These problems pose serious threats to personal privacy, corporate operations, and national security [1]. As a result, cybersecurity has become a global focal point. In this context, to adapt to the fast-evolving information technology environment, it is essential to cultivate professionals capable of addressing complex cybersecurity issues. Since the establishment of the “Cybersecurity” first-level discipline by the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council, 34 universities across the country have successfully set up this discipline, over 60 universities have established cybersecurity schools, and more than 200 universities have launched undergraduate programs in cybersecurity [2]. However, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Education, by 2027, there will be a shortage of 3.27 million cybersecurity professionals in China. From the perspective of enterprise demand, nearly 70% of cybersecurity companies face difficulty in hiring talents that meet job requirements, and the shortage of high-end professionals remains an urgent issue to address [3]. Therefore, in response to the ongoing severe supply–demand imbalance of cybersecurity talent, universities, as the primary base for talent development, should actively take on the responsibility of cultivating professionals in the field of cybersecurity [4].

The rapid transformation in the current cybersecurity field has put forward new requirements for engineering education accreditation. As shown in the comparative study by Fenping Wang (2020), both Chinese and American accreditation standards emphasize the need to dynamically adapt to the demands of technological development [5]. For example, the rapid proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices has driven the growth of market demand for security, but it has also introduced a large number of security vulnerabilities and risks. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity has improved the efficiency of security defenses, but it has also given rise to new security threats. Therefore, universities urgently need to enhance students’ ability to solve complex engineering problems and improve their innovative thinking and practical skills in talent development [6]. Engineering education accreditation plays a crucial guiding role in cybersecurity talent cultivation [7]. It emphasizes competency-based education, helping students cope with the rapidly changing cybersecurity landscape; focuses on character development, strengthening social responsibility and lifelong learning capabilities, ensuring students can effectively respond to cybersecurity incidents and adapt to technological advancements; and values the construction of knowledge systems, requiring the cultivation of professionals with interdisciplinary integration abilities to deliver high-quality talent to the cybersecurity field [8]. Under the accreditation standards, universities should innovate talent training models so that students not only master core theories and technologies in cybersecurity but also enhance their ability to solve complex problems and foster innovation through experimentation and project practice [9]. This paper aims to explore how engineering education accreditation can cultivate high-quality technical talents with innovative thinking and practical abilities to address complex cybersecurity challenges and promote the long-term development of the industry [10].

The structure of this article is as follows: Section 2 reviews the current situation and challenges of network security talent cultivation; Section 3 proposes the ‘Three Platforms and Four Modules’ training system and implementation path; Section 4 verifies the effectiveness of the plan through empirical data; Section 5 focuses on presenting the specific achievements and practical results of teaching reform; Section 6 summarizes the research results and points out future research directions. This structural design aims to systematically answer three core questions: (1) What are the key deficiencies in the current training system; (2) How do we build an innovative training model for school enterprise collaboration? (3) What is the actual effect and feasibility of promotion of the plan?

2. Current Situation of Talent Cultivation in Cybersecurity

With universities across the country gradually establishing cybersecurity programs, this discipline, as an interdisciplinary field, covers multiple areas such as computer science, mathematics, communication theory, and laws and regulations [11]. These fields not only emphasize the development of technical skills but also require the integration of cross-disciplinary knowledge [11]. The course content is broad and profound, and the associated knowledge system is correspondingly complex. However, there is currently a relative shortage of qualified teaching staff, manifested in the limited number of high-level educators, the lack of practical experience among some teachers, and the underdeveloped teacher training mechanisms [12], all of which hinder the achievement of high-quality teaching. Additionally, the collaboration between industry, academia, and research is not close enough, lacking stable cooperation platforms and long-term mechanisms [13]. The cooperation content is relatively singular, making it difficult to achieve genuine mutually beneficial outcomes. Furthermore, the lack of an international perspective is another significant bottleneck in talent cultivation. The current curriculum and teaching content are somewhat limited, and opportunities for international exchange and cooperation are relatively scarce, which restricts the enhancement of students’ international competitiveness [14]. In line with the requirements of engineering education accreditation, although many universities have made considerable efforts in talent cultivation, there is still a need to further strengthen industry-academia-research cooperation, enrich the curriculum, and improve internationalization levels in order to better address the increasingly complex cybersecurity challenges [15].

2.1. Disconnect Between Curriculum and Industry Demand

Although many universities emphasize engineering education accreditation, their curriculum often focuses on theoretical teaching, resulting in a noticeable disconnect from the actual needs of the industry. The alignment between course content and accreditation standards is also insufficient, leading to graduates lacking the necessary practical experience to tackle complex cybersecurity tasks. Moreover, with the rapid development of cybersecurity technologies and the constant emergence of new security threats, the on-campus curriculum updates lag behind, making it difficult for students to keep up with the latest technological trends and security challenges [16]. As a result, they struggle to handle new types of attacks. Additionally, cybersecurity, as an interdisciplinary field, involves not only technical training but also areas such as law, policy, and psychology. However, the current curriculum is overly focused on technical skills, neglecting the integration and application of cross-disciplinary knowledge. This leads to students lacking a comprehensive mindset and the ability to respond to complex security problems [17].

2.2. Lack of Real-World Projects and Case Environments in Practical Teaching

Engineering education accreditation emphasizes the development of practical skills, but there are several issues in the practical teaching of cybersecurity programs. On one hand, practical teaching is often limited to theoretical explanations and simulation-based training, with little collaboration on actual projects with industry. Most internships and training programs are conducted in simulated environments, lacking connection with real-world industry projects. This leads to insufficient hands-on experience and a lack of opportunity to develop innovation skills, making it difficult for students to adapt to complex work environments after entering the workforce and leaving them unprepared to handle real cybersecurity challenges [18]. On the other hand, some schools have limited laboratory facilities and cannot provide sufficient opportunities for practical operations, such as lacking complex network topologies or the simulation of real data traffic. This makes it difficult to accurately simulate attack and defense processes, which impacts students’ skill development and their ability to handle complex scenarios [19]. As a result, such practical components fail to effectively improve students’ practical abilities and innovative thinking.

Engineering education accreditation emphasizes the development of practical skills, but there are several issues in the practical teaching of cybersecurity programs. On one hand, practical teaching mainly focuses on theoretical instruction and simulation-based training, lacking close collaboration with actual industry projects. Internships and training programs are mostly confined to simulated environments and are not connected with real-world industry projects, which results in insufficient development of students’ hands-on and innovative abilities. After graduation, students often struggle to adapt to complex work environments and lack effective experience in handling real cybersecurity challenges [20]. On the other hand, some schools have relatively basic laboratory facilities and cannot provide students with enough practical operation opportunities. For example, there is a lack of complex network topologies and real data traffic simulations, making it impossible to accurately replicate the full process of attack and defense. This limits the enhancement of students’ skills and their ability to handle complex scenarios. As a result, such practical components fail to effectively strengthen students’ practical abilities and innovative thinking.

2.3. Insufficient Faculty Development

A strong and capable teaching team is a key factor in ensuring the quality of cybersecurity education [21]. The shortage of qualified faculty is also a significant constraint on talent development. Professional cybersecurity talent is relatively scarce, making it difficult for universities to recruit engineering professionals with rich practical experience and industry backgrounds. The majority of faculty members in this field come from academia, which directly impacts the cultivation of students’ hands-on skills during the teaching process. High-quality teachers who meet the standards of engineering education accreditation not only need a solid academic background but also substantial industry experience. Such teachers should be able to incorporate real-world cases into their teaching, allowing students to gain a deeper understanding of the nature of cybersecurity issues and how to solve them. However, many universities do not fully consider this aspect when selecting faculty, resulting in some teachers lacking practical application skills in the field of cybersecurity. This situation directly affects the effectiveness of student learning and their understanding of the industry.

2.4. Incomplete Evaluation System

Engineering education accreditation emphasizes the construction of a comprehensive, diverse, and scientific evaluation system. However, the current evaluation mechanism for cybersecurity programs is one-dimensional, mainly relying on final exams that focus primarily on testing students’ memorization of theoretical knowledge [22]. This assessment method contradicts the comprehensive evaluation required by engineering education accreditation, as it neglects the assessment of students’ practical skills and teamwork abilities. As a result, students’ overall quality fails to develop comprehensively, limiting their ability to solve problems in complex engineering environments. From the essence of engineering education, the goal of talent cultivation in cybersecurity programs is to train professionals who can tackle complex real-world engineering problems. This requires that the evaluation system must cover the assessment of students’ abilities in multiple areas. For example, in real cybersecurity projects, hands-on skills are crucial. Students need to be proficient in operating various security tools, performing vulnerability assessments, and implementing intrusion defenses. However, current evaluations rarely involve quantifiable assessments of these practical skills. Teamwork abilities are also indispensable. Cybersecurity projects are often large in scale and complex in nature, requiring collaboration among individuals with different expertise. An effective project team member should possess good communication skills, role awareness, and the ability to resolve conflicts within the team. Yet, the current evaluation system generally does not include these teamwork-related abilities in the assessment scope.

In summary, the talent cultivation in the field of cybersecurity faces several issues, including insufficient alignment between curriculum design and engineering education accreditation standards, a lack of practical training opportunities, weak faculty resources, and a one-dimensional evaluation system. Universities need to focus on aligning their curriculum with practical needs and accreditation standards, enhance practical teaching by incorporating more authentic hands-on activities, strengthen faculty development, and optimize the evaluation system. These reforms and investments are necessary to improve students’ comprehensive abilities and practical skills, enabling them to better address future cybersecurity challenges [23] and meet the diverse needs of society and the industry.

This study has been approved as a project of Hunan Province’s Teaching Reform Program. The research data sources are diverse and substantial: student development data covering 12 indicators, such as the course grades and competition awards of 1205 students majoring in cybersecurity from the 2019–2024 academic years; enterprise feedback data consisting of 328 valid evaluations collected through the jointly compiled Talent Quality Assessment Form with eight cooperative enterprises, including 360 Security and Sangfor Technologies; as well as teaching process data, including teaching logs and reflection reports provided by 28 instructors. These data provide solid support for this study.

3. Pathways for Cultivating Innovative Talent in Cyberspace Security

3.1. Curriculum System Construction

To cultivate high-quality cybersecurity professionals who can meet industry demands and possess innovative capabilities, the construction of a comprehensive curriculum system in universities is imperative. On one hand, the proportion of foundational and practical courses in cybersecurity should be increased, covering topics such as Introduction to Cybersecurity, Cryptography, Network Security Protocols, and related laboratory courses. This will solidify students’ professional knowledge from both theoretical and practical perspectives. On the other hand, frontier courses such as Artificial Intelligence Security and Blockchain Security should be introduced to broaden students’ horizons and enable them to keep up with emerging trends in cybersecurity. At the same time, attention should be paid to the integration and coordination of courses, constructing a logically coherent and well-structured curriculum system, avoiding fragmented knowledge, and ensuring that students can systematically grasp the professional knowledge framework.

Under the “three-in-one” talent cultivation model, the curriculum, is shown as Figure 1, is divided into general education courses, specialized courses, and industry–education integration courses. General education courses incorporate elements such as cybersecurity awareness, providing students with a broad foundation of knowledge literacy. Specialized courses emphasize the coordinated development of foundational courses and practical courses, as well as the inclusion of frontier courses, while focusing on the organic connection and integration of knowledge across different courses. Industry–education integration courses are designed through deep collaboration with enterprises, setting course content based on actual industry demands, such as network attack and defense practical courses. These courses focus on cultivating students’ ability to solve real-world engineering problems and their professional qualities, ensuring that the knowledge and skills students acquire are closely aligned with market needs, thereby improving the overall quality of cybersecurity talent cultivation.

Engineering education accreditation defines the training objectives and graduation requirements for cyberspace security talent, which influences the construction of the curriculum system. When designing the curriculum system, the student-centered approach is emphasized, with a focus on enhancing students’ practical abilities and innovative thinking. The course content is designed to meet industry needs, and diverse teaching methods are employed. This is mainly reflected in the distribution of class hours and credits. For example, to design a curriculum that aligns with industry requirements, the proportion of credits for practical courses should be appropriately increased, accounting for 41.6% of the total class hours. This ensures that students are provided with sufficient time to engage in hands-on practice. However, theoretical courses are equally essential and should incorporate more innovative elements to both solidify fundamental knowledge and stimulate students’ creative thinking. A reasonable allocation of class hours and credits should be established to ensure that the entire curriculum system not only meets the requirements of engineering education accreditation but also effectively cultivates high-quality cyberspace security engineering talent that meets industry demands. The composition of course hours and credits is shown in

Table 1. Composition of class hours/credits.

Course Module		Credit Hours	Percentage	Credits	Percentage
General Education Curriculum	Theoretical Teaching	548	15.15%	30.50	19.06%
	Experimental Training	188	5.20%	8.50	5.31%
	Comprehensive Practice	234	6.47%	9.00	5.63%
	subtotal	970	26.81%	48.00	30.00%
Subject-Specific Courses	Theoretical Teaching	824	22.78%	51.50	32.19%
	Experimental Training	552	15.26%	17.50	10.94%
	Comprehensive Practice	264	7.30%	11.00	6.88%
	subtotal	1640	45.33%	80.00	50.00%
Integration of Industry and Education Curriculum	Theoretical Teaching	0	0.00%	0	0.00%
	Experimental Training	0	0.00%	0	0.00%
	Comprehensive Practice	1008	27.86%	32	20.00%
	subtotal	1008	27.86%	32	20.00%
total hours	3618	In-class Teaching	2112	Comprehensive Practice	1506
Total credits	160	In-class Teaching	108	Comprehensive Practice	52

.

To scientifically evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum reform, this study conducted a systematic assessment of over 2000 students (including 296 cybersecurity majors) who participated in the new curriculum system across five academic years from 2019–2020 to 2022–2023, using comprehensive academic data from the educational administration system and longitudinal comparative analysis methods. The data analysis reveals that compared to baseline levels prior to the reform, the implementation of the new curriculum system has led to significant improvements in students’ average academic performance and substantial increases in course pass rates. Particularly noteworthy is the marked enhancement in excellence rates (grades ≥ 85) for practical competency assessments among cybersecurity majors. A detailed comparison of specific teaching outcomes is presented in

Table 2. Comparison of teaching effects of core courses (2019–2023).

Course Name	Pass Rate in 2019	Pass Rate in 2023	Growth Rate	Excellent Rate (≥85 Points)
Network Services and Management	85.2%	100%	+14.8%	55.6% → 83.1%
Cryptography	66.0%	100%	+34.0%	46.0% → 45.8%
Network Security Management	82.0%	98.3%	+16.3%	22.0% → 81.7%
Information Security	79.6%	97.1%	+17.4%	9.3% → 42.6%
Network Attack and Defense	90.0%	100%	+10.0%	30.0% → 91.5%

.

3.2. Practical Teaching Reform

Practical teaching is an important way to cultivate students’ practical abilities and innovative capabilities. Strengthening the design and management of practical teaching components provides students with more opportunities for hands-on practice. In the process of constructing the practical course system, it is essential to comprehensively enhance the practical teaching segments. On one hand, a “three-platform and four-module” practical teaching system centered on cultivating innovative abilities is established. The “three platforms” each have distinct roles but are interrelated: the basic skills training platform lays a solid foundation for students’ operational abilities, the comprehensive ability training platform further integrates various skills, and the innovation ability cultivation platform focuses on stimulating students’ creative thinking and innovation. The “four modules” include professional internships, professional experimental training, research-based practice, and other practical activities, covering different dimensions of practical teaching. On the other hand, deepening school–enterprise cooperation and the integration of industry, education, and research has become an important breakthrough. By establishing strategic educational cooperation with many top-tier IT companies in China, in recent years, eight companies have jointly established practical teaching bases, carrying out various forms of cooperation, including targeted training, engineering practice training, graduation internships and practical training, and the development of dual-teacher faculty teams. More importantly, the latest engineering content from companies is incorporated into the classroom, using real-world engineering projects as a basis for teaching and practical operations, and inviting key technical personnel from enterprises for practical demonstrations, allowing students to understand the latest industry technology applications and also enhancing their real-world engineering capabilities. The practical teaching system is shown in Figure 2.

In the process of constructing the three-level practical teaching system of “Basic Skills Training Platform—Comprehensive Ability Cultivation Platform—Innovative Ability Enhancement Platform”, in order to scientifically verify the teaching effectiveness, this study designed a rigorous controlled experiment. The experiment was conducted among students majoring in cybersecurity at Huaihua University from September 2021 to January 2022. The specific plan is as follows:

(1)

Experimental Design

This study employed a quasi-experimental design. A total of 120 participants were divided into an experimental group and a control group (60 participants in each group) through stratified random sampling. The experimental group implemented the “Three-Platform, Four-Module” teaching system, conducting two class hours of real-world enterprise project training weekly (using cases from partners including 360 Security and Sangfor Technologies). The assessment was carried out using the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) with six skill stations and corporate project defense. In contrast, the control group adopted traditional experimental teaching, using case studies accompanying the textbooks, and was evaluated through laboratory reports and standardized operation examinations. The experimental conditions were strictly controlled: all participants uniformly used Huawei USG6630 firewall devices. The teaching was delivered by the same teaching team over a period of 16 weeks (four class hours per week). The double-blind principle was implemented, where students were unaware of the grouping purpose, and teachers were not informed of the evaluation criteria. Baseline equivalence was ensured by matching pre-test scores (t = 0.28, p = 0.781).

Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 26. Continuous data were presented as mean ± SD and compared using independent t-tests. Categorical data were expressed as percentages (%) and analyzed by χ² or Fisher’s exact tests. A two-tailed p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

(2)

Effect Verification Data

The validation data of teaching effectiveness are presented in

Table 3. Comparison of practical teaching effects (2021–2022).

Evaluation Indicators	Experimental Group (n = 60)	Control Group (n = 60)	Statistical Methods	p-Value	Effect Size	95%CI (Experimental Group Alone)
OSCE Pass Rate	91.7%	70.8%	Fisher’s exact test	0.001	0.88	[81.6%, 97.2%]
Enterprise Project Compliance Rate	95.0%	81.7%	Chi-square test	0.005	0.83	[86.3%, 98.9%]
Per Capita Innovation Achievements	2.6 projects	1.0 projects	U-test	0.008	0.75	[2.1, 2.3]
Average Operation Duration	40.1 min	24.3 min	t-test	0.003	0.97	[37.5, 42.7]

:

As can be seen from the above data, the experimental group adopting the new practical teaching system significantly outperformed the control group in all evaluation indicators (p < 0.01), and the effect sizes all exceeded 0.7, indicating remarkable effectiveness of the teaching reform. Especially in terms of two dimensions, namely the completion rate of enterprise projects (95.0% vs. 81.7%) and the output of innovation achievements (2.6 projects per person vs. 1.0 project per person), the advantages of the new system in cultivating students’ practical and innovative abilities have been fully verified.

The innovation and entrepreneurship practice activity module is an activity project recognition course, and students in this major must obtain three credits for innovation and entrepreneurship practice activity projects. The specific recognition rules are shown in

Table 4. Professional discipline activity project recognition form.

Classification	Practical Activity Project Name	Level	Credit Value
Professional Discipline Activity Category	University Student Academic Competition Award (Third Prize and Above [Inclusive])	National Level/Provincial Level/Municipal (University) Level/Participation	4/3/2/1
	Innovation and Entrepreneurship Project	Venture Capital Agreement Project/Self-operated Project	4/2
	University Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Practice Project	National Level/Provincial Level/University Level (Project Completion)	4/3/2
	Local Service Project	50,000/30,000/10,000/Below 10,000	4/3/2/1
	Discipline Paper (publicly published)	Core Journals/General Provincial Journals	4/2
	Industry Certification	Advanced/Intermediate/Junior/Participate	4/3/2/1
	Computer Technology and Software Professional Technical Qualification (Level) Examination	Advanced/Intermediate/Junior/Participate	4/3/2/1
	CCT	Level 4/Level 3/Level 2	4/2/1
	Computer Programming Ability Examination (PAT) Grade A	80 points or above/60–79 points	4/2
	Patent/Copyright	Invention Patent/Other	4/2
	Academic Lectures	School Level/College Level	1/0.5
	Others	Recognized by the College Professors Committee	4/2/1
Non-Professional Discipline Activity Category	Social Practice Activity Project	Provincial/School/College Level	3/2/1
	Professional Certification	Industry Certificate/Job Certificate	2/1
	English Proficiency Level Passed	Level 6/Level 4	2/1
	Competition Awards (including third prize or above)	National/Provincial/City (School) Level/Participation	4/3/2/1
	Others	Recognized by the College Professors Committee	4/2/1

:

3.3. Faculty Development

The current faculty is insufficient to meet the rapidly growing demands of the field of cybersecurity. To strengthen faculty development and improve teachers’ professional skills and teaching abilities, the university has implemented the following measures:

(1) Strengthening teacher training and recruitment efforts to improve teachers’ professional skills and teaching abilities, and establishing diversified channels for recruiting faculty members. In addition to recruiting outstanding PhD graduates from universities, the university can also bring in senior engineers and technical experts with rich practical experience from cybersecurity-related companies. These frontline engineers can inject fresh case studies and hands-on experience into teaching. For example, they can use real-world defense strategies against complex cyberattacks and the application of emerging encryption technologies in secure communications as teaching materials, ensuring a close integration of theoretical knowledge and practice. In terms of teacher training, a tiered and categorized training plan will be developed. For new teachers, integrated courses combining basic cybersecurity theory with actual business project processes will be offered, helping them develop a solid academic foundation while becoming familiar with industry trends. For experienced teachers, participation in advanced cybersecurity certification courses, such as the National Information Security Level Exam (NISP) and the four major certifications in the offensive and defensive domain, will be encouraged. Teachers will also be required to apply what they have learned to course system reforms, such as updating experimental projects in network attack and defense courses to ensure that course content aligns with international certification standards.

(2) Encourage teachers to participate in research projects and academic exchange activities to broaden their horizons and knowledge. Teachers should establish deep collaborations with cybersecurity experts from enterprises. By regularly organizing both online and offline exchange seminars, they can jointly explore emerging technological trends in the field of cybersecurity and discuss how to incorporate them into teaching. For example, collaborative research on cutting-edge topics can be carried out, with university teachers focusing on theoretical research and enterprise experts bringing practical application perspectives. This complementary collaboration not only enhances the level of scientific research but also facilitates the rapid transformation of the latest research findings into teaching content, thereby laying a solid foundation for cultivating innovative talents that meet certification standards and industry demands.

(3) Establish an incentive mechanism to encourage teachers to actively engage in teaching reforms and innovative talent cultivation. Increase financial support for teaching research and reform projects, and explore novel and effective teaching methods (such as cybersecurity vulnerability simulation teaching methods). Teachers who incorporate real-world projects from enterprises into the teaching process will be provided with financial support. Additionally, in terms of title evaluations, more weight will be given to the conversion of teaching achievements and student awards in academic competitions. For example, students guided by teachers who achieve outstanding results in cybersecurity certification exams or win awards in university innovation and entrepreneurship competitions will be considered as important criteria for title evaluations. This will motivate teachers to pay close attention to certification-driven teaching demands and continuously explore innovative paths for cultivating talented individuals.

3.4. Multi-Dimensional Comprehensive Evaluation Mechanism

In order to comprehensively assess the effectiveness of innovative talent cultivation, it is essential to establish a multi-dimensional evaluation system. This system should not only focus on students’ theoretical knowledge and professional skills but also pay attention to their practical abilities, innovative thinking, cross-disciplinary collaboration skills, and industry adaptability. The following are some indicators for evaluating innovative talent cultivation:

(1) The assessment of professional technical capabilities primarily examines the mastery of fundamental knowledge, technical innovation ability, and tool application skills. It evaluates the understanding of foundational fields such as computer science, cybersecurity, data structures, and algorithms by constructing platforms to test these areas. The assessment also includes testing innovative problem-solving abilities through specific projects, such as the depth of insights in areas like encryption technology, vulnerability discovery, and attack–defense techniques. It also examines whether students can use current mainstream tools for vulnerability detection, penetration testing, and risk assessment.

(2) The evaluation of practical abilities mainly focuses on students’ project experience, ability to solve real-world problems, and cross-disciplinary application skills. It assesses the number, complexity, and technical challenges of projects students have participated in, and examines their ability to respond in real-world environments. Participation in scientific research projects or technology development is also considered, along with whether students have achieved original technological outcomes, such as published papers or patent applications. Additionally, it is important to evaluate students’ involvement in local service projects.

(3) The assessment of students’ overall quality and ability development goes beyond course grades and project research abilities. It also considers students’ performance in extracurricular activities, internships, or social practice, including participation in volunteer services, community building, or social welfare activities, which can reflect students’ personal character.

(4) The employment situation of students is typically assessed from multiple dimensions, including employment rate, job quality, industry distribution, salary levels, and job matching. In recent years, through adjusting the curriculum, focusing on developing students’ comprehensive qualities and professional abilities, and strengthening school–enterprise cooperation, students majoring in cyberspace security have developed a knowledge structure that better aligns with industry demands. As a result, the employment rate has steadily increased, improving graduates’ industry recognition and enhancing their market competitiveness.

To verify the applicability of the evaluation mechanism in resource-constrained scenarios, this study further compared the effectiveness of a simplified evaluation scheme (student project portfolio + online enterprise review) with traditional OSCE assessment. Sixty students of the same grade were selected and divided into two groups: the experimental group underwent OSCE assessment (six skill stations + enterprise project defense), while the control group submitted project portfolios (including code, reports, and demonstration videos) for online review by enterprise experts. The results showed no significant differences in project completion rate (92% vs. 88%, p = 0.21) and enterprise scores (82.3 ± 5.1 vs. 80.6 ± 6.4, t = 1.12, p = 0.27) between the two groups (see

Table 5. Comparison of simplified evaluation and OSCE assessment results (2023 data).

Evaluation Indicators	OSCE Experimental Group (n = 60)	Simplified Evaluation Control Group (n = 60)	Statistical Method	p-Value	Cost Savings
Project completion rate	92%	88%	Chi-square test	0.21	___
Enterprise rating (out of 100)	82.3 ± 5.1	80.6 ± 6.4	Independent t-test	0.27	___
Per capita evaluation time	40.1 min	25.3 min	Welch’s t-test	0.002	37%
Hardware/site dependency	High (requires dedicated laboratory)	Low (only requires network access)	___	___	60%

for details). This indicates that the simplified scheme can reduce venue, equipment, and labor costs by approximately 60% (the original OSCE requires 16 weeks/four class hours per week of laboratory occupation) while ensuring evaluation validity. This model has been promoted in cooperation with other colleges and universities within the province and is suitable for institutions lacking OSCE implementation conditions.

4. Typical Cases and Achievements

In order to further improve students’ programming and innovative practical abilities, and enhance the quality of talent cultivation in the computer major, Huaihua College, together with Hunan Agricultural University and Jishou University, has been carrying out the “Three School Joint Entrance Examination and Programming Course Construction” teaching reform since 2013. The aim is to promote the teaching reform of programming courses through the joint entrance examination mechanism, and enhance students’ engineering practice and innovation abilities. We hope to promote intercollegiate exchanges, strengthen communication among teachers in colleges and universities, solve common problems in teaching, and explore the construction of information platforms to break through the time and space limitations of communication, jointly promote the construction of programming courses, collaborate in exploring teaching methods and approaches for programming courses, promote educational reform and innovation in programming courses, and explore effective mechanisms for exam reform in programming courses.

The “Three Schools Joint Examination” activity of Huaihua College reflects multi-level educational reform and cooperation. At present, it has developed into a “five school joint examination”. This activity focuses on curriculum reform, resource sharing, and monitoring of teaching quality by reflecting the trend of collaborative development in education, promoting teaching innovation through inter-school discussions, testing teaching effectiveness and improving teaching level through joint exams, forming a complementary mechanism. The teaching effectiveness and level of our school have been significantly improved, as shown in Figure 3, Figure 4, Figure 5 and Figure 6. Our Huaihua College (HHU) has established a collaborative evaluation mechanism with the School of Information and Intelligent Science and Technology (HUNAU) of Hunan Agricultural University and the School of Computer Science and Engineering (JSU) of Jishou University; in 2021 and 2023, the School of Computer and Artificial Intelligence (XNU) of Xiangnan University and the School of Information Science and Engineering (HST) of Hunan University of Technology have successively joined the evaluation alliance. Through standardized proposition and unified evaluation platform (PTA), the standardization and comparability of cross-school evaluation have been achieved. In the future, this type of joint examination model may be further expanded to more courses and disciplines, promoting educational reform and enhancing students’ practical abilities.

5. Teaching Reform Achievements

5.1. Extensive Beneficiary Coverage of Teaching Reform Achievements

Over the decade-long implementation of these teaching outcomes, the results were first applied to two undergraduate programs—Network Engineering and Cybersecurity—at the School of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, benefiting over 200 students annually. Within the university, the practices were extended to engineering departments including Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Mathematics and Computing, benefiting more than 1000 students. The model has been adopted by over 10 institutions across and beyond Hunan Province, such as the Information School of Hunan Agricultural University, Huizhou University, and Taiyuan Institute of Technology, benefiting over 10,000 students in total (see

Table 6. Summary of students’ innovation and entrepreneurship practice abilities.

Categories of Abilities	Number of Items	Notes
Winning awards in various subject competitions	821	A total of 172 national-level awards have been won in various subject competitions, including 10 first prizes and 56 second prizes; 649 provincial-level awards, including 97 first prizes and 206 second prizes; ranked fourth, fifth, and sixth among universities in Hunan Province in the Programming Competition
“Internet plus” Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition	13	A total of one provincial first prize, four second prizes, and eight third prizes
Research and Innovation Projects for College Students	356	A total of 356 research and innovation projects for college students, including 26 at the national level and 78 at the provincial level
Published paper	37	Published 37 papers, including one indexed in SCI
Authorized patent	30	A total of 30 authorized patents, China National Intellectual Property Administration
Software copyright	146	A total of 146 software copyrights, China Copyright Protection Center
Self-employed	47	A total of 47 individuals started their own businesses, including Xiang Jiujiu, Huang Jersey, Zhang Yu, Zou Hu, Li Hao, and others
ACM/ICPC International Collegiate Programming Competition Asia Regional Competition	13	ACM/ICPC International College Student Programming Competition Asia Regional Competition, 13 National Gold Awards 1, Silver Awards 3, Bronze Awards 9

).

For years, more than 10 faculty members have presented these achievements over 10 times at various academic platforms including the Computer Education Professional Committee of Hunan Higher Education Association, National Higher Education Computer Foundation Research Association, International Conference on Big Data Engineering and Education, and International Conference on Computer Science and Education, receiving widespread acclaim from participants.

The school has hosted seven annual forums, attracting participation from over 1000 distinguished professors and industry representatives from 400+ organizations including Central South University. These forums facilitated multidimensional discussions on cooperative education models, strengthened industry–academia communication, shared educational experiences, and disseminated teaching achievements.

More than 20 institutions including Xiangnan University have proactively visited for academic exchanges. Our innovative talent cultivation model, discipline competitions, entrepreneurship education, and teaching reforms have been featured over 30 times in media outlets like People’s Daily, Hunan Daily, Jinritoutiao, and New Hunan. Over 60 research papers have been published in authoritative journals including Modern Educational Technology (CSSCI), University Education, Higher Education Journal, and Computer Education.

5.2. Remarkable Teaching Reform Outcomes

(1)

Significant Enhancement of Students’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Capabilities.

Students’ practical innovation and entrepreneurship abilities have improved markedly across multiple dimensions. They have won 821 discipline competition awards, including 172 national-level (10 first prizes, 56 second prizes) and 649 provincial-level awards (97 first prizes, 206 second prizes), ranking 4th–6th in Hunan Programming Competitions. The “Internet+” competition yielded 13 provincial awards, while 356 research and innovation projects were conducted (26 national-level, 78 provincial-level). Academic outputs include 37 publications (1 SCI-indexed), 30 authorized patents, and 146 software copyrights. Forty-seven students launched successful startups, and the team earned 13 ACM/ICPC Asia Regional awards (1 gold, 3 silver, 9 bronze). With over 90% employment rate, graduates are highly regarded by employers, with many joining top firms like Tencent and Baidu or pursuing advanced studies at prestigious universities. Seventy-eight students obtained professional certifications.

(2)

Substantial Improvement in Collaborative Cultivation of Application-Oriented Talents.

Through innovative industry–academia collaboration models (“3 + 1”, “2 + 2”, “2.5 + 0.5 + 1”), we have partnered with IBM, Shanghai Jiepu, and others to establish specialized programs like “Software Engineer Class” and “IoT Engineer Class”, significantly enhancing applied talent cultivation. Seven consecutive Industry–Academia Cooperation Forums have engaged over 1000 experts from 400+ organizations including Peking University, providing strategic direction for talent development. The Career Mentor Program, with 200+ industry mentors guiding 1000+ students over four years, has effectively improved students’ career planning and comprehensive competencies.

(3)

Notable Advancement in Local Technology Service Capabilities.

Over the past decade, faculty and students have substantially strengthened local service capabilities, undertaking 40+ regional projects. The Municipal Characteristic Industry Technology Innovation Platform project alone involved 30+ teachers and 500+ students, generating annual funding exceeding RMB 3 million. These well-executed projects have earned high recognition from partner organizations, demonstrating the institution’s contribution to regional economic development.

(4)

Marked Progress in Faculty Teaching and Research Proficiency.

Recent years have seen significant improvements in faculty development (see

Table 7. List of teacher team construction.

Categories	Name	Number	Notes
External Communication	Teacher Development	3–5	An amount of three–five external exchange teachers sent to enterprises for training, English training, university visits or doctoral studies per year. A total of 23 teachers have obtained relevant industry certificates, accounting for more than 65% of professional teachers
	Teachers Participate	100	Overseas teachers participate in 100 international and domestic academic or teaching seminars per year, with five people giving keynote speeches at international conferences, seven people giving keynote speeches at domestic conferences
Publications	Published Papers	213	Published 213 research papers, including 43 SCI and EI papers
	Applied Patents	56	Applied for 56 patents (with student participation), including 5 invention patents, 45 utility model patents, and 6 design patents
	Authorized Software Copyright	129	Authorized software copyright (student participation) 129 items
	Published Educational Reform Papers	57	Published 57 research and educational reform papers in the past 5 years, including 9 papers in CCF-C journals of Computer Education
	Published Textbooks	16	Published 16 textbooks, including 12 campus cooperative textbooks
Project	First-Class Courses	6	Project proposal: six first-class courses in Hunan Province
	Educational Reform Projects	22	A total of 22 educational reform projects in Hunan Province, including 4 key projects
	School-Level Education Reform Projects	86	A total of 86 school-level education reform and examination method projects
	School-Level Micro Courses	29	A total of 29 school-level micro courses and MOOC projects
	National Science, Social Science Projects	3	Three national science or social science projects
	Science, Social Science Projects	7	A total of seven self-science or social science projects in Hunan Province
	Collaborative Education Projects	78	A total of 78 collaborative education projects between industry and academia under the Ministry of Education
Teaching Achievement	Teaching Achievement Award	1	One third prize of Hunan Provincial Teaching Achievement Award
	Teaching Achievement Awards From Hunan Computer Society	6	Six teaching achievement awards from Hunan Computer Society, including one first prize, two second prizes, and three third prizes
	School-Level Teaching Achievement Awards	12	A total of 12 school-level teaching achievement awards, including 2 first prizes and 3 second prizes
Award Teachers Receive Honors	Innovative Talent Project	1	One teacher has been honored as a candidate for the Hunan Province 121 Innovative Talent Project
	Outstanding Teacher	1	One outstanding teacher in the city
	Talent From Wuxi City	1	One talent from Wuxi City
	Young Backbone Teachers	5	Five young backbone teachers from Hunan Province
	Moral Exemplars	2	Two school-level moral exemplars
	Academic Leaders	3	Three school-level academic leaders
	Young Backbone Teachers	7	Seven school-level young backbone teachers
	Teaching Excellence Awards	3	Three school-level teaching excellence awards
	“Dual Teacher” Teachers	21	A total of 21 “dual teacher” teachers

). Through enhanced external exchanges, 3–5 teachers annually participate in corporate internships, English training, academic visits, or doctoral studies, with 30 obtaining industry certifications (over 65% of professional faculty). Annual participation in international/domestic conferences reaches 100 person-times, including 10 international and 20 domestic keynote speeches, substantially broadening academic perspectives and teaching capabilities (see Table 4).

Research accomplishments include 213 academic papers (43 SCI/EI-indexed), while faculty-guided student teams secured 56 patents (5 inventions, 45 utility models, 6 designs) and 129 software copyrights, reflecting the practice-oriented education approach. Teaching innovation yielded 57 pedagogical papers in five years (9 in CCF-C ranked Computer Education) and 16 textbooks (12 industry-collaborative).

The institution has received 1 Third Prize of Hunan Teaching Achievement Award, 6 Computer Society Teaching Awards (1 first, 2 second, 3 third prizes), and 12 university-level teaching awards (2 first, 3 second prizes), evidencing reform effectiveness.

Faculty honors include one Hunan 121 Innovative Talent, one Municipal Excellent Teacher, one Wuxi Talent, five Hunan Young Backbone Teachers, two University Ethics Models, three University Discipline Leaders, seven University Young Faculty Stars, three Teaching Excellence Awards, and 21 Dual-Qualified (academic + professional) Teachers. These accolades reflect both individual excellence and institutional commitment to faculty development. Through multifaceted approaches, we have established a structurally sound, professionally competent, and innovative faculty team, laying a solid foundation for talent cultivation and disciplinary advancement.

6. Conclusions

6.1. Main Findings and Achievements

This article explores the development of an innovative talent cultivation model for cybersecurity under the framework of engineering education accreditation. Through specific case studies, it elaborates on the teaching reform measures in areas such as curriculum design, practical teaching, and faculty development, and discusses how these measures contribute to the cultivation of innovative talent in cybersecurity. After several years of practical exploration, the teaching reforms in the university’s cybersecurity program have achieved significant results. Students’ practical and innovative abilities have greatly improved, and the employment rate and quality of graduates have seen noticeable enhancement. Additionally, the university has established close partnerships with eight companies, including Deep Security, Qihoo360, and Hunan Yuren Network Security, providing students with more practical opportunities and career development platforms.

6.2. Theoretical Contributions and Future Directions

Research practice has shown that significant achievements have been made by constructing a sustainable education model that integrates education, industry, and society. Firstly, an innovative laboratory for interdisciplinary knowledge fusion has been created, which organically integrates cybersecurity teaching with sustainable development issues such as artificial intelligence and ethical governance; secondly, a modular project system based on real industry scenarios has been developed to keep the talent cultivation process synchronized with the industry’s green digital transformation; thirdly, a collaborative innovation platform between schools and enterprises has been established to dynamically adapt teaching content to the development of green technologies in the industry, and to establish a long-term mechanism for knowledge updating and resource sharing.

6.3. Research Limitations and Promotion Suggestions

While this study has made significant progress, it still faces several challenges, including how to continuously improve the alignment between teaching quality and industry demands. In the future, we should further deepen the integration of industry and education, and explore more innovative talent training models. The implementation of this model in underdeveloped areas needs to be tailored to local conditions. The research has the following application limitations: the construction of practical platforms requires hardware support such as Huawei USG6630 (Huawei Limited Liability Company, Shenzhen, China) is resource-limited universities can use alternatives such as eNSP simulators; the construction of eight practical bases relies on local industrial support (areas with weak industrial foundations can adopt the “cloud training” model of Shenxin); the curriculum system is based on the Chinese engineering education certification standards (international applications need to be adjusted in conjunction with localization such as ABET); double-qualified teachers need to reach at least 65%, and can transition through the enterprise mentorship system in the initial stage. These elements need to be adjusted according to the actual situation during promotion, and through continuous optimization of the education ecosystem, ultimately form a virtuous cycle of knowledge inheritance, technological innovation, and social value creation, providing a Chinese solution for global digital education reform.

6.4. Future Research Directions

Based on the existing achievements of this study, future research will focus on (1) developing a lightweight virtual training platform to address the functional gap between eNSP simulators and Huawei devices; (2) establishing a dynamic curriculum adjustment mechanism, establishing a case library through deep cooperation between schools and enterprises, and continuously updating practical cases; (3) conducting international benchmarking research and conducting benchmarking analysis of the curriculum system. These directions not only continue the core framework of this study, but also provide practical paths for solving the problem of quality assurance in cultivation under resource constraints.