– By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer

Scotland’s oldest university, St. Andrews, is renowned for its two-decade old research on terrorism. The institution is now extending its knowledge to professionals dedicated to fighting terror the world over through an online course in the study of terrorism. “Certificate in Terrorism Studies”, a transnational e-learning course, kicked off in the cyber world earlier this week, and already has more than 140 enrollments from the police, military, coastguard and aviation spheres in Britain, Australia, Canada, Scandinavia, Thailand, and other countries.

The course has been designed in collaboration with Informa Plc, a global information provider and publishing and training group. It purports to offer students a deeper insight into the minds of terrorists, to understand their methods, ideologies, beliefs, aims, and modus operandi. Learners are also taught strategies and techniques to counter terrorism during the 16-week duration of the course.

Prospective students are carefully screened during the admissions process to prevent possible misuse of what is taught, according to Oliver Gadsby of Informa.  Is just four hours of study a week really enough to gain a deeper understanding of the psyche of a hardened terrorist? Those who graduate can tell!