A Swede’s Inspiration from Crete Comes to Life in Finland
Marcus Nohlberg, Associate Professor in Informatics at the University of Skövde found unexpected inspiration at the INGENIUM Staff Academy in Crete: the idea of using card games as innovative teaching tools. The idea evolved further in Skövde, and a year later, it was fulfilled at the Staff Academy at Xamk, Finland.
Marcus Nohlberg attended the 10 Days of INGENIUM in Crete in February 2024 to discuss teaching Informatics, with a focus on Information Security. He held a workshop titled Teaching the Dark Art of Deception: A Workshop on Pedagogical and Ethical Challenges when Students Roleplay as Attackers. He enjoys the intersection between people and technology, and between people and organisations.
He has made it one of his goals to explain complex cybersecurity issues in a way that everyone, hopefully, can understand. Marcus Nohlberg is one of the University of Skövde’s most well-known researchers and one of the most frequently featured in the media. In short, he is often seen and heard on both national radio and television. He has discussed everything from dodgy passwords on TV, to explaining the consequences of fraud in a few minutes of airtime, and debating the Swedish Chat Control Law. He is frequently invited as a speaker at conferences both in Sweden and abroad and has also been invited to the Swedish Parliament as an expert.
“Last time I was invited to the Swedish Parliament I had 45 minutes at the podium, and before me the Minister of Justice spoke, and after me the Minister of Finance. We had the same amount of speaking time, and it was a surreal feeling – but very exciting and bloody awesome.”
Inspiration from Staff Academy became an obsession
In Crete, of course, Marcus Nohlberg took the opportunity to both talk to researchers from partner universities and listen to seminars and take part in workshops – and he got inspired.
“Someone shared that they had used card games to teach Art History. It was, of course, in a completely different subject from mine, but it really stuck with me that people thought it was fun and enjoyable to use a card game when learning. While people often find information security interesting and exciting, I’ve found it’s still difficult to engage them deeply in the subject.”
“One of the great things about INGENIUM is that you have different perspectives, different cultures and different research fields. You get feedback from people who think about issues in a very different manner. The start of this work was in Crete, and being at Xamk felt like I fulfilled the circle and I really appreciate the symmetry in it.”
Marcus Nohlberg, Associate Professor at HIS and participant in the Staff Academy at 10 Days of INGENIUM in both Crete and Finland
The Associate Professor from Skövde was inspired by the possibility of using card games in his teaching at the University.
“I began developing the idea, and it soon became an obsession. I spent hundreds of hours creating a card game about Information Security. While it’s not a copy of the card game seen in Crete, my experience at the Staff Academy was what inspired me. I really wanted to do something fun and I believe my card game meets a specific need on the market and is something that doesn’t currently exist.”
Fulfilled the circle
The card game has now been tested and evaluated. Marcus Nohlberg applied to the Staff Academy again, and in February 2025, he travelled to Xamk in Finland. This time, he focused on another aspect of teaching Information Security using the card game.
“It felt great to attend the Staff Academy, present the card game, and have people test it and provide feedback. One of the great things about INGENIUM is that you have different perspectives, different cultures and different research fields. You get feedback from people who think about issues in a very different manner. The start of this work was in Crete, and being at Xamk felt like I fulfilled the circle and I really appreciate the symmetry in it.”
