Richard Buckland

Professor Richard Buckland is a Professor in Cybercrime, Cyberwar, and Cyberterror at the School of Computer Science and Engineering, UNSW. He concurrently holds visiting roles as Professor of Educational Design at the National University of Malaysia (UKM) and Grand Challenge Visiting Professor in CyberSecurity at Taylors University. He leads the UNSW First Year Experience initiative and directs the UNSW/CommBank Security Engineering Capability partnership (SecEDU). His accolades include the 2008 Engineering Educator of the Year and 2013 ICT Educator of the Year awards, alongside over a decade of peer-reviewed teaching recognitions.

His research bridges Cyber Security (focusing on electronic elections, cryptography, and security engineering) and Education Technology (exploring affective learning domains, non-mark-based motivation, and online education scalability). He pioneered Australia’s first MOOC and co-founded OpenLearning.com, amassing hundreds of thousands of students globally. His work emphasizes ethical hacking, election integrity, and fostering inclusive educational environments for diverse learners.

Professional milestones include chairing the Australian Computer Society’s Academic Board, directing the Australian Centre for Cyber Security’s Education division, and serving on UNSW’s Academic Board. His grants and collaborations span industry partnerships and government security initiatives. Richard is also an advocate for unconventional learners, including gifted and neurodiverse students, and actively promotes kindness and emotional engagement in pedagogy.