BTS cybersecurity

A huge need of young talents in the cybersecurity domain

The « digital Luxembourg » initiative, launched by the Luxembourg government in 2014, aims to strengthen the country’s position in the field of ICT. The « Future Hub » label, awarded to three high schools in the country, symbolizes the realization of this idea in high schools with a predominant technical and innovative focus.

The Luxembourg Government has developed a cybersecurity strategy responding to the challenges of the digital transformation of today’s society.

« Cybersecurity and data protection are two themes of crucial importance for the economy of tomorrow – the data economy » (FEDIL)

To meet the growing demand in IT and computing-related sectors, Luxembourg requires highly skilled and qualified professionals in the field of information security.

The Lycée Guillaume Kroll aims to provide these professionals by offering a contemporary, state-of-the-art training course in cybersecurity.

The BTS cybersecurity – brief overview

Qualification

Advanced Technician‘s Diploma
(Brevet de technicien supérieur en Cybersécurité)

Duration

2 years – full-time – 120 ECTS

Occupation profile

• CSIRT / CERT / SOC operator
  • security engineer
  • incident response analyst
  • log analyst
• SECOPS / security engineering
  • network security operator
  • security administrator
• Operational security officer
  • CISO assistant
  • Security operations desk
• Junior pentester

Learning outcomes

Advanced technical and practice-based training, preparing students to implement and manage operational cybersecurity in a professional context according to the latest developments

BTS cybersecurity graduates will be able to:

• easily blend into operational security teams,
• implement and manage security at the system and network level,
• assist the information security officer as a technical advisor,
• possess the necessary knowledge to manage and analyse incidents,
• adapt to new security challenges.

Entry requirements

• Possess a secondary school-leaving certificate or equivalent
• Pass the admission test and classify among the first 14 candidates
• Acknowledge and sign the ethics and security disclaimer
• Have a good understanding of English

Work placement

12-week internship within a company at the end of semester 4. The internship should allow an easy integration into working life.

Workload

• 21 teaching hours per week
• many autonomous working hours, partly in the presence of a teacher.

Reduced class size

• 14 students per class
• Personal contact with teachers
• Mentoring

What’s next?

• professional life
• further higher education studies at undergraduate level ( BAC+3 )

Course curriculum

Cybersecurity is not solely about technology. It is also about governance and communication. Hence, the training program focuses on 5 different fields:

BTS Cybersecurity: 5 pillars & Course curriculum

Access to training

The following are currently eligible to enrol in the course, in accordance with current legislation:

• holders of a secondary school leaving certificate,
• holders of a general secondary school leaving certificate,
• holders of a foreign certificate recognised as equivalent by the Minister of National Education (see admission-FAQ ),
• holders of a technician’s leaving certificate who have passed the 8 preparatory modules for higher technical studies (4 in French and 4 in mathematics).
• holders of a technician’s diploma who have not taken or passed the 8 preparatory modules must take a preliminary entrance test in French and mathematics (see ‘preliminary entrance tests’). If candidates have passed all 4 modules in a single subject (e.g. mathematics), they will be exempted from the preliminary entrance test in the subject of the preparatory module they have passed. If they pass these preliminary access tests, they will be able to submit an application (see ‘admission’).

The student must have a laptop computer corresponding to the characteristics defined by the lycée.

Internship 

Work placement

The work placement lasts 12 weeks, 40 hours a week. It is an integral part of the BTS – Business Management and Sustainable Development course. It takes place during the 4th semester of the BTS course.

Aims of the internship

The aim of this placement is to integrate the student into the professional environment. Students must put into practice the theoretical knowledge acquired during their two years of study.

The work placement enables students to show that they have the knowledge and know-how to face and master professional life.

This is all the more important as companies need people who can be quickly integrated into the production process or day-to-day management work.

Carrying out a project during the work placement should enable the student to demonstrate :

• their social responsibility:
  • by showing team spirit and respect for colleagues,
  • by showing helpfulness, friendliness, politeness and kindness towards the people with whom they come into contact,
• their environmental and professional responsibility:
  • by using resources sparingly,
  • by showing initiative and a sense of creativity,
• their responsibility towards the company:
  • by providing accurate, clean, reliable and complete work.

As part of the project, the student must propose, understand and implement actions that meet the real needs of the company and are in line with sustainable development.

It is through this ‘action’ approach that the student must promote the application of the knowledge and know-how acquired during the course.

Internship phases

It is important to distinguish between different phases of the work placement:

• understanding the structure, objectives and operation of the company,
• understanding the needs of the company,
• realising a project supervised by the company tutor
• writing a report, describing the the purpose of the project and covering the various phases and the outcome of the student’s project.

Organisation of the placement

The placement may be in a private or public company, an association or an institution.

A list of companies will be made available to trainees, but it is up to the student-trainee to take the necessary steps to organise his/her placement. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the company.

Students may propose a placement with a company of their choice; the school office must, however, approve the proposal.

Assessment of the placement

To be validated, the placement requires a placement contract signed by all the parties involved and submitted to the school management no later than 8 days before the start of the placement. The compulsory details are governed by the law on higher education (law of 19 June 2009).

When looking for a placement, as well as during the placement period, the student is accompanied by a person appointed by the school management, known as the ‘promoter’. The student will be advised and monitored within the company by a person appointed by the company, the company manager. The promoter and the company manager meet at least once at the beginning and once at the end of the placement period to discuss the behaviour, performance and progress of the trainee. In the event of conflict, a solution must be found that satisfies all parties involved in the placement.

The BTS Internship Description document describes the internship in detail.

Internship period

The internship period starts on the first Monday of the Easter school holidays and ends on the Friday of the twelfth week following. The dates of the Easter school holidays can be found on the ministry’s website « Vacances et congés scolaires » https://men.public.lu/fr/vacances-scolaires.html

Internship projects

Our students carry out a multitude of projects in a professional environment during the internship. Some topics:

• Advanced threat monitoring, detection and response strategies expertise within a premier Cyber SOC
• Analysis and optimisation of the log centralisation system and verification using simulated attacks
• Automated penetration testing
• Conception, configuration, implementation and testing of a new VPN infrastructure
• Conception, implementation and automation of the activation of DNSSEC in selected zones.
• Deployment of an event detection and alerting software to protect against DDoS attacks
• Development and evaluation of various cyber security strategies; customer risk analysis
• Development of penetration testing tools and scenarios
• Email security enhancement
• From Data to Defense: Enhancing Cybersecurity with MISP Threat Intelligence
• From phishing to ransomware : incident handling at POST Luxembourg
• From policy to practice: implementing the NIS2 directive
• General cyber security audit and development of basic security governance
• Healthcare Cybersecurity Intern – Risk Analysis and System Optimization
• Implementation of a security log analysis solution.
• Implementation of a SIEM (Security Information and Event Management).
• Implementation of the Wazuh SIEM system for enhanced security monitoring
• Implementation of use cases relating to telephone fraud.
• Improvement of IT/Cyber-Security efforts, compliance assessment
• Installation and configuration of a traffic analyser to detect DDoS attacks
• Monitoring daily safety checks with a view to improving them
• Operation of a SOC and event analysis
• Penetration tests and securing the cybersecurity team’s lab.
• Proof of concept for utilizing Azure Sentinel as SIEM and XDR system
• Setting up a default protection against email spoofing
• SIEM migration, alert management and categorisation
• Software development and machine learning in the field of cybersecurity
• Strengthening IT security: internal pentesting, active directory hardening, and employee awareness.
• Structure and function of a SOC and event analysis
• Support in the Security Operations Center (SOC) through analysis, monitoring, and incident response to strengthen the IT security situation.
• Tackling real-world cybersecurity challenges and improving operational security procedures
• Vulnerability audit and risk reduction
• Vulnerability detection and DDoS protection in a cloud infrastructure
• Web application penetration testing with a focus on the OWASP

Registration

Registrations are possible from mid-March 2025 until the 27th of June 2025 (1st session) or 23rd of September 2025 (second session) via the website https://enroll-bts.lgk.lu/

Admission exam

On-site attendance is required. Candidates may not take part in the examination remotely.

The admission examination consists of two parts.

1. Practical part on the computer: questions on a technical document in English (Linux Introductory Online Course) and a test of basic knowledge of how to use a word processing software (MS Word or OpenOffice Writer of the candidate’s choice) and how to manipulate files using the Windows graphical interface. The questions will cover one or more sections of the online course. Access to the online course will be allowed during the examination. The aim is to check the candidate’s comprehension of English texts and his/her ability to learn by him/herself. We do not assume that the candidate must be an expert in the subject matter at this stage.
2. Interview: Discussions to clarify the ambitions, motivations and pre-requisites (technical and language) of future candidates.

Dates of the admission exams (in person)

• Preliminary test in languages and arithmetic (for people with a technician’s diploma WITHOUT preparatory modules):
  • Session 1: Monday, 7 July 2025 | 15:00 – 15:40
  • Session 2: Tuesday, 16 September 2025 | 8:00 – 8:40
• Practical part:
  • Session 1: Monday 7 July 2025 | 16:00 – 17:45
  • Session 2: Tuesday, 16 September 2025 | 8:00 – 9:45
• Interviews:
  • Session 1: Tuesday 8 July 2025 from 8:00 am. The interview schedule will be distributed after the practical part.
  • Session 2: Tuesday, 16 September from 10:00.

The results of the admission exam will be communicated by e-mail.

Fees

• The registration fee is 150 € per semester.
• +/-150€ per year for course materials & online subscriptions.  Various course materials will be provided free of charge by the school and partners.
• The fees must be paid within the week of the publication of the results of the admission exam (see above).

Bank transfer

The total amount of €300 is to be transferred to the account BCEE LU06 0019 1955 4654 7000
Beneficiary: Trésorerie de l’Etat-SEGS-LGK, 32 rue Henri Koch L-4354 Esch-sur-Alzette avec la reference: « BCYB24 S1 Name LASTNAME inscription + certification».

Additional expenses:

• Each student must purchase a laptop on his own. Minimal computer requirements:
  • mobile computer. A tablet PC with a tactile display and a stylus is highly recommended,
  • i5, dual core, virtualization must be supported,
  • minimum 16GB RAM ,
  • at least 256GB HDD or better SSD. 512GB would be preferable. In case of an HDD an external USB 3 SSD is highly recommended,
  • an optional second power supply to leave at school.

Our partners

We are already proud to say that all major players (both private and public) in the Luxembourg marketplace have committed and will participate in this project. Discussions are currently being held with additional potential partners. The list will certainly be extended.

tldr; FAQ – Enrolment

▶ Which diploma will I receive?

BTS Diploma in Cybersecurity. If you successfully complete the programme, you will receive 120 ECTS credits. ( Art.3 )

▶ Do I have to be present for the entrance exam?

The entrance exam takes place in person at the school in Esch/Alzette. It is not possible to apply via an online session.

▶ Am I eligible for the BTS programme? What are the requirements?

( Art. 10 (1) ) Access to studies leading to the brevet de technicien supérieur is open to holders of :

1. a Luxembourg secondary school leaving certificate or technical secondary school leaving certificate, or a Luxembourg secondary school leaving certificate or general secondary school leaving certificate;
2. a Luxembourg diploma of access to higher education ;
3. foreign diplomas or certificates (EU an non-EU) recognised as equivalent by the Minister for National Education.

▶ I have a foreign (i.e. non-luxembourgish) diploma.

( Art. 10 (1) 3° ) If you hold a non-Luxembourgish BAC diploma, you must apply to the Luxembourg Ministry of Education, Children and Youth to have your diploma recognised. See here for more information. The LGK will not help you with the administrative procedures.

▶ I have a Luxembourg technician’s diploma but I did not pass the preparatory modules “modules préparatoires” in maths and English.

( Art. 10 (2) ) Holders of a Luxembourg technician’s diploma who have not passed all the preparatory modules may access the study programmes […] on condition that they have passed a preliminary access test to check your knowledge of the basics of English and Maths, prior to the admission procedure. The test takes place on the same day as the entrance exam.

▶ How much are the tuition fees?

150€ per semester ( Art. 1 RGD ) plus fees for online resources and certifications (100 – 250€ per year)

▶ Do I need a laptop?

Yes, see the requirements above.

▶ What language are the courses taught in?

It is important that you understand and speak English, as courses, course support, exercises, exams and communication will be in English.

▶ How many places are there on the course?

We accept 14 students.

▶ When will the courses start?

The courses start in the last week of September.

▶ Do I need a residence permit?

( Art. 10 (4) ) Third-country citizens must be authorised to reside in Luxembourg in accordance with the amended law of 29 August 2008 on the free movement of persons and immigration in order to enrol in study programmes. As a non-European citizen, you will need a residence permit. The LGK will not help you with the administrative procedures.

▶ Will the LGK help me find accommodation?

No. Accommodation is NOT provided. We cannot help with accommodation.

Key facts

▶ Enrolments and graduates since the start of the course

• • Past trainings (BCYB21, BCYB22):  28 students have enrolled, 23 of whom have obtained their diploma. Success rate: 82,1%
  • Current classes (BCYB23, BCYB24): 28 students have enrolled, 25 (89%) still studying
  • Totals: 56 students enrolled, 52 remained: 85,7%

▶ Further study rate

Since the creation of our programme in 2021, 9 graduates of 23 have chosen to continue their studies at university level, corresponding to a rate of 39.1%.

▶ Internship

100% of the students who made it to the fourth semester did an internship and successfully completed it. Each second-year student completes an 12-week work placement at 40 hours per week, for a total of 480 hours.

▶ Partners and external speakers

Professional partners play a key role in the cybersecurity training provided in our BTS. More than 25 partner firms and organisations and over 30 external lecturers are actively involved in the training, delivering over 300 lessons.

Contact us

You are interested in participating to the projet? You want to give us a feedback? You want to have more information?
Do not hesitate to contact us by using the contact form below.

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