FUI's course evaluation

IN5290 - Ethical Hacking

Assessment:

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What is your general impression of the course? What do you think of the course's difficulty level? What do you think of the amount of work required in relation to the number of credits given? What do you think about the scope of topics that were covered in this course? How often did you participate in the lectures? What is your general impression of the quality of the lectures? How important was the teaching method or methods to your learning and understanding of the course curriculum? What is your general impression of the quality of the teaching method(s)? What do you think of the difficulty level of the assesments? How important were the assignments/assessments to your learning and understanding of the curriculum? What do you think of the amount of work involved with completing the assessment? What did you think of the difficulty level of the graded assessment? Throughout the course, how did you experience the availability of the course teachers and/or group teachers if you had questions or found something unclear? Show all Hide

Summary:

The course received very positive evaluations overall, with the majority of students rating it between Quite good and Very good. The perceived difficulty and workload were generally Appropriate, with some variation where a few students found the workload slightly Low or High. Lectures were highly appreciated for their engaging and knowledgeable delivery, practical demonstrations and recorded formats, although some noted that slide materials were scattered and text‑heavy, making self‑study challenging. Assessments, including assignments and a CTF‑style home exam, were seen as relevant and motivating. Teacher and assistant availability received positive remarks, while digital communication through Teams was viewed by some as cumbersome.

Students valued the broad scope covering ethical‑hacking techniques and the balance between theory and practice. Practical assignments provided realistic experience, but some students wished for more depth in areas such as binary exploitation, wireless and network attacks. They also requested concise documentation of main tools and recommended background reading materials.

Having a CTF over the duration of the course as a part of the grading was a novel idea and really contributed to the fun, exciting aspect of Ethical hacking.

Clearly a lot of effort and love has been put into the practical side of this course. A very good and really fun experience. Some really challenging tasks that were great fun and that you learnt a lot from if you managed to complete them!

Suggestions for improvement focused on creating more structured and self‑contained lecture slides, enhancing solution walkthroughs for practical tasks and improving the clarity and coordination of digital communication channels. Clearer guidance on exam expectations, permitted tools and sharing past exams were also mentioned as ways to reduce uncertainty and improve preparedness. Increasing dedicated workshop time for assignment support was also seen as beneficial.

Overall, the course is experienced as a strong combination of practical exercises and theoretical knowledge, and students indicate that addressing organisational and communication issues, alongside improving teaching materials, would further enhance the learning experience.

About the course evaluation

The course evaluation is done by students in FUI (Fagutvalget ved Institutt for informatikk), and is based on questionnaires made at the end of each semester.