Senior Year Plan 2026

Goals

Semester 1

Graduation project: the heavy lifting happens this semester
Linux and terminal fluency
Bash and Python scripting for cybersecurity and network automation
4.0 GPA

Semester 2

CCNP SCOR
Finish the graduation project
4.0 GPA
CCNP Firewall if possible, or CCNP SNCF as a stretch if SCOR finishes early

Ground rules

Friday is fully off. It is not part of the week, not counted as free time, and only for genuine emergencies.
The planning week is Saturday to Thursday: 6 days, 144 hours.
Teaching Week 1 (19–24 Sep) is skipped on purpose: full decompression after summer.
Gaps between classes are never counted as free time.
Coursework hours are placeholders, so free-time figures are an upper bound until real deadlines are known.

Weekly rhythm

3×

PPL

about 4h a week

Two sessions of about 1.5h and one of about 1h, showering included.

3–5×

Piano

about 1.5h a week

At least 10 minutes per session.

Daily

Calibration

about 2h a week

Morning plan, evening log, plus a weekly review. None on Friday.

During exam weeks, Ramadan, Christmas break and the two Eids, keep these light and drop everything else.
PPL timing: classes start at 9:00 on Sat, Sun, Wed and Thu, so weekday mornings are tight. Tuesday morning is the clean slot. Other options are Thursday after you are home (about 12:00), early Monday before the 10:00 start, or Sunday and Wednesday evenings. Nothing is locked in.

Timetable

Group A-5, 2026/27 Semester 1. Five timetabled modules, plus the Graduation Project, which has no timetabled slot.

Swipe sideways on a phone to see every day. “Out” is the time you are away from home, commute included.

SaturdayOut 8:00–16:00

SundayOut 8:00–16:00

MondayOut 9:00–17:00

TuesdayNo classes

WednesdayOut 8:00–16:00

ThursdayOut 8:00–11:50

FridayOff

8:009:0010:0011:0012:0013:0014:0015:0016:0017:00

Commute to uni8:00–9:00

Entrepreneurship and Innovation9:00–10:50Lecture, A-LH-1

Entrepreneurship and Innovation13:10–15:00Tutorial, G-LH-8

Gap10:50–13:10lost time

Commute home15:00–16:00

Commute to uni8:00–9:00

Cloud Computing & Cloud Security9:00–10:50Lab, H_Lab 17

Cloud Computing & Cloud Security13:10–15:00Lecture, A-LH-2

Gap10:50–13:10lost time

Commute home15:00–16:00

Commute to uni9:00–10:00

Principles of Network Design10:00–11:50Lab, H-Lab 9

Data Privacy12:10–14:00Lecture, B13-LH-3

Entrepreneurship and Innovation14:10–16:00Lecture, G-LH-3

Commute home16:00–17:00

Open dayno classes, no commute

Commute to uni8:00–9:00

Modeling and Simulation9:00–10:50Lecture, B20 LH Theatre 1

Principles of Network Design13:10–15:00Lecture, H-CR-219

Gap10:50–13:10lost time

Commute home15:00–16:00

Commute to uni8:00–9:00

Modeling and Simulation9:00–10:50Lab, H_Lab 15

Commute home10:50–11:50

Offnot part of the week

Entrepreneurship and InnovationCloud Computing & Cloud SecurityPrinciples of Network DesignData PrivacyModeling and SimulationCommute, 1h each wayGap between classes, lost timeOpen day

Rooms and lecturers, day by day

Saturday3h40 of class

9:00–10:50 Entrepreneurship and InnovationLectureA-LH-1

Gap 10:50–13:10, counted as lost time

13:10–15:00 Entrepreneurship and InnovationTutorialG-LH-8

Sunday3h40 of class

9:00–10:50 Cloud Computing & Cloud SecurityLabH_Lab 17

Gap 10:50–13:10, counted as lost time

13:10–15:00 Cloud Computing & Cloud SecurityLectureA-LH-2, Nayera Youness

Monday6h of class

10:00–11:50 Principles of Network DesignLabH-Lab 9

12:10–14:00 Data PrivacyLectureB13-LH-3, Ahmed Mostafa

14:10–16:00 Entrepreneurship and InnovationLectureG-LH-3, Ashraf Abdelwahab

Tuesdayno class

No classes and no commute. The one clean day.

Wednesday3h40 of class

9:00–10:50 Modeling and SimulationLectureB20 LH Theatre 1, Ayman Ghoneim

Gap 10:50–13:10, counted as lost time

13:10–15:00 Principles of Network DesignLectureH-CR-219, Anar Abdelhady

Thursday1h50 of class

9:00–10:50 Modeling and SimulationLabH_Lab 15

Friday

Off. Not part of the planning week.

Free time

The weekly pool is what is left of 144 hours after everything that is fixed. Free time each week is the pool minus that week’s planned hours.

Hours in a Saturday to Thursday week144h
less Sleep (7.5h x 6 nights)45h
less Meals and personal admin (2h x 6)12h
less PPL, piano and Calibration7.5h
less Class blocks19h
less Commute (2h x 5 campus days)10h
less On-campus gaps (lost time, not free)7h
Weekly pool, normal teaching week43.5h

Reading Week and Revision Week use a 70h pool. That figure is not derived from the timetable; if Reading Week has no classes at all, the real pool is closer to 79h.

Free hours by day

Day	Class	Commute	Gap	Free
Saturday	3h40	2h	2h20	≈ 6.5h
Sunday	3h40	2h	2h20	≈ 6.5h
Monday	6h	2h	–	≈ 6.5h
Tuesday	–	–	–	≈ 14.5h
Wednesday	3h40	2h	2h20	≈ 6.5h
Thursday	1h50	2h	–	≈ 10.7h

Per-day free hours are what is left after sleep (7.5h), meals and admin (2h), class, gaps and commute, before PPL, piano and Calibration. They are rounded and add up to about 51h; subtract the 7.5h of lifestyle time and you get the weekly pool below.

Semester 1

At a glance

Week	Dates	Planned	Free	Free per day
2	26 Sep – 1 Oct	11h	32.5h	5.4h
3	3–8 Oct	14h	29.5h	4.9h
4	10–15 Oct	15h	28.5h	4.8h
5	17–22 Oct	15.5h	28h	4.7h
6	24–29 Oct	17h	26.5h	4.4h
7	31 Oct – 5 Nov	17.5h	52.5h	8.8h
8	7–12 Nov	18.5h	25h	4.2h
9	14–19 Nov	18.5h	25h	4.2h
10	21–26 Nov	17.5h	26h	4.3h
11	28 Nov – 3 Dec	19.5h	24h	4h
12	5–10 Dec	18.5h	25h	4.2h
13	12–17 Dec	45h	25h	4.2h

Free per day is the weekly figure divided by 6 (Saturday to Thursday).

Week 1, 19–24 Sep

Skipped on purpose. Full decompression, no plan, no obligations.

0226 Sep – 1 Oct32.5h free11h planned

Average per day: 1.8h of work, 5.4h free. Pool this week: 43.5h.

Coursework4h

Placeholder block: swap in real assignments and labs once known4h

Grad project3h

Shortlist a topic, reach out to a supervisor, outline the proposal

Brainstorm and shortlist 3–5 candidate topics1hResearch feasibility and scope of the top 21hDraft supervisor outreach message and a rough one-paragraph outline1h

Linux2h (was 3h)

Shell customization

Quick for someone already comfortable in the terminal.

Customize .bashrc/.zshrc: prompt, env vars, PATH, plus 8–10 aliases1hWrite 2–3 shell functions (for example mkcd, extract)1h

Scripting2h (was 3h)

Bash basics

Variables and if/else are CS-101 concepts, just new syntax.

Variables, quoting, echo/printf, read for input1hif/else and test/[[ ]] conditions, small practice script1h

033–8 Oct29.5h free14h planned

Average per day: 2.3h of work, 4.9h free. Pool this week: 43.5h.

Coursework5h

Placeholder block5h

Grad project4h

Draft the proposal document

Write problem statement and motivation1hWrite objectives and scope section1hWrite methodology and tech approach section1hWrite timeline and milestones, proofread the whole draft1h

Linux2h (was 3h)

tmux/screen, SSH key auth, ssh_config

SSH key auth is likely already routine.

tmux basics: panes, windows, sessions, detach and reattach1hSSH key auth and ~/.ssh/config host aliases1h

Scripting3h (was 4h)

Bash loops, functions, exit codes, args

Loops and functions are familiar concepts.

for/while loops and functions (return values, exit codes)1.5hPositional args ($1, $@, $#, shift), combined into one practice script1.5h

0410–15 Oct28.5h free15h planned

Average per day: 2.5h of work, 4.8h free. Pool this week: 43.5h.

Coursework5h

Placeholder block5h

Grad project4h

Revise the proposal after supervisor feedback

Review feedback, list concrete changes needed0.5hRewrite or adjust flagged sections2hTighten scope and methodology per feedback1hFinal polish and resend for sign-off0.5h

Linux2.5h (was 3h)

tcpdump, tshark, ss/netstat

Your CCNA protocol knowledge speeds up reading captures.

tcpdump: capture filters, common flags, saving and reading pcap1htshark basics: filtering, reading captures from the CLI1hss/netstat advanced flags0.5h

Scripting3.5h (was 4h)

Finish bash fundamentals with a backup or monitoring script

Plan and write the core backup or monitoring logic2hAdd logging and error handling, test edge cases1.5h

0517–22 Oct28h free15.5h planned

Average per day: 2.6h of work, 4.7h free. Pool this week: 43.5h.

Coursework6h

Placeholder block6h

Grad project5h

Lock final scope and tech stack

Compare 2–3 candidate tech stacks or tools for feasibility2hDecide the final architecture approach (sketch or diagram)1.5hWrite the locked-scope doc (what is in and out)1.5h

Linux1.5h (was 2h)

journalctl and log rotation

journalctl: filtering by unit, time and priority, follow mode1hlogrotate config basics0.5h

Scripting3h (was 5h)

Python refresh

A genuine refresh of 3rd-year-CS-level Python, not new material.

Speed-run syntax, data types and control flow1hFunctions: args, kwargs, return, defaults1hSmall practice exercises tying it together1h

0624–29 Oct26.5h free17h planned

Average per day: 2.8h of work, 4.4h free. Pool this week: 43.5h.

Coursework6h

Placeholder block6h

Grad project6h

Set up the repo and project skeleton

Create the GitHub repo: README, license, .gitignore1hSet up folder structure and dependency/env management1.5hScaffold core modules and classes per the architecture doc (empty shells)2hGet a basic hello-world running end to end1.5h

Linux1.5h (was 3h)

iptables/nftables, NAT, UFW

Your Linux security labs already covered iptables; nftables translation is the genuinely new part.

iptables refresher: chains, allow and deny rules0.5hnftables: translate 2–3 iptables rules to nft syntax0.5hNAT basics, and when to use UFW versus raw iptables/nftables0.5h

Scripting3.5h (was 5h)

Python file I/O, pip/modules, subprocess

File I/O and pip are likely familiar; subprocess is the new part.

File I/O and pip/virtualenvs1hsubprocess: run shell commands from Python, capture output2.5h

0731 Oct – 5 NovMid-semester reading week52.5h free17.5h planned

Average per day: 2.9h of work, 8.8h free. Pool this week: 70h.

Coursework10h

Dedicated catch-up on labs and assignments

Whatever is actually outstanding10h

Grad project4.5h (was 5h)

Begin core feature implementation

Trimmed docs and commit overhead, not build time.

Implement the first core function or module end to end2.5hManual test and sanity check1hCommit and a brief dev log note1h

Linux1.5h (was 2h)

systemd deep dive

Write a custom systemd service unit for a simple script1hWrite a systemd timer to schedule it (replacing cron)0.5h

Scripting1.5h (was 2h)

Python socket basics

Minimal TCP server and matching client, test the exchange1.5h

087–12 Nov25h free18.5h planned

Average per day: 3.1h of work, 4.2h free. Pool this week: 43.5h.

Coursework6h

Placeholder block6h

Grad project5.5h (was 6h)

Continue the core feature build

Overhead trim.

Implement the second core function or module2.5hWire modules together, debug integration issues2hCommit and a brief dev log note1h

Linux2.5h (was 3h)

SSH hardening and fail2ban

sshd_config hardening: disable root login, key-only auth1hInstall fail2ban and configure an SSH jail1hTest: attempt a blocked login, confirm the ban fires0.5h

Scripting4.5h (was 5h)

Paramiko/Netmiko intro

Install Paramiko/Netmiko, SSH into a device and run one command2hExtend to multiple commands and capture output1.5hBasic error handling (auth failure, timeout)1h

0914–19 Nov25h free18.5h planned

Average per day: 3.1h of work, 4.2h free. Pool this week: 43.5h.

Coursework6h

Placeholder block6h

Grad project6.5h (was 7h)

First working prototype

Overhead trim.

Fix remaining integration bugs from last week1.5hAdd missing glue code to complete the end-to-end flow2.5hFull manual test of the prototype, note gaps and edge cases2hCommit and a brief dev log note0.5h

Linux1.5h (was 2h)

Filesystem and disk admin

File-permission overlap with your labs.

LVM basics: PV/VG/LV concepts, create a test volume1hdu/df/ncdu and ACLs/SUID/SGID/sticky bit, quick pass0.5h

Scripting4.5h (was 5h)

Simple port scanner in Python (socket)

Plan and implement the core scan loop (single-threaded)2.5hOutput formatting, test against known ports, fix bugs2h

1021–26 Nov26h free17.5h planned

Average per day: 2.9h of work, 4.3h free. Pool this week: 43.5h.

Coursework6h

Placeholder block6h

Grad project5.5h (was 6h)

Integrate the automation script if relevant

Overhead trim.

Review this week's scripting output for reuse potential0.5hAdapt and integrate the script into the grad project codebase3hTest the integrated version1.5hCommit and a brief dev log note0.5h

Linux1h (was 2h)

Kali toolset survey

You already know much of this from CTF work; this is organizing what you know, not learning it.

Map recon, scanning, post-exploitation and forensics tool categories1h

Scripting5h (was 6h)

Ping sweep and device inventory (bash and Python)

Implement a ping sweep over a subnet2hParse results into an inventory (IP, alive or dead, hostname)2hOutput to file (CSV/JSON), test and fix bugs1h

1128 Nov – 3 Dec24h free19.5h planned

Average per day: 3.3h of work, 4h free. Pool this week: 43.5h.

Coursework7h

Placeholder block7h

Grad project7h

Continue feature integration

Fix bugs and edge cases found in the last integration2hBuild out the next planned feature or module3hTest the new feature1.5hCommit and update the dev log0.5h

Linux1.5h (was 2h)

Terminal power tools and a cheat-sheet

Install and configure fzf0.5hLearn ripgrep (rg) common flags versus grep0.5hLearn bat, then build a one-page cheat-sheet of all three0.5h

Scripting4h (was 5h)

Refine the automation script

argparse, logging and error handling are pattern-based once you have seen one example of each.

Add argparse for CLI args (replace hardcoded values)1hAdd proper logging (replace print statements)1hAdd try/except around network calls, test end to end2h

125–10 Dec25h free18.5h planned

Average per day: 3.1h of work, 4.2h free. Pool this week: 43.5h.

Coursework8h

Assignments due before Revision Week

Finish and submit whatever is outstanding8h

Grad project6h

Push toward feature-complete

Implement remaining smaller features and polish items3hFull regression pass: try to break it1.5hFix bugs found1hCommit and update docs and dev log0.5h

Linux1h

Light review only

Skim back through Weeks 2–11 Linux notes, flag anything shaky1h

Scripting3.5h (was 4h)

Polish and document the portfolio tool

Clean up code, add comments and docstrings1.5hWrite the README (what it does, usage, examples)1.5hPush to GitHub and tag a release0.5h

1312–17 DecRevision week25h free45h planned

Average per day: 7.5h of work, 4.2h free. Pool this week: 70h.

Exam revision45h

Full syllabus pass per subject: skim notes and slides, flag weak spots (20%)9hPractice problems and past papers per subject (40%)18hTargeted drilling on the flagged weak spots (30%)13.5hFinal full review across all subjects right before exams (10%)4.5h

Grad project, Linux and scripting are paused. Exam subjects and dates are not published until about 10 Dec, so divide the 45h across your real subject list using these ratios.

Exams and breaks

Exams before the break18–24 Dec

Same revision framework as Week 13, scaled to that week's revision hours. The pool is about 70h and free time is about 15–25h by design. Exam dates are published around 10 Dec and the window runs through 21 Jan.

Christmas break25 Dec – 8 Jan

Protected rest if no exams fall here for you: no grad project, scripting or revision goals. About 80h a week, genuinely free.

Remaining exams9–21 Jan

Same revision framework, scaled to your remaining subjects. About 15–25h free per week by design.

Mid-year break23 Jan – 5 Feb

No classes and no exams; about 80h a week. Two small blocks below, and everything else is rest and buffer.

Grad project8h

Full status review and task list for Semester 2

Audit what is built against the original spec2hWrite a ranked task list for the remaining S2 work (target: 20% or less left)2hFlag blockers and risks with mitigation notes1hUpdate project documentation and README to match current state3h

CCNP SCOR4h

Orientation only, not real study yet

Set up CBT Nuggets account and access0.5hSkim the official 350-701 SCOR blueprint and domains1.5hMap each blueprint domain against current CCNA knowledge (rough gap list)1hShortlist hands-on lab options (GNS3, CML, pnetlab) and a practice-exam engine (for example Boson ExSim)1h

Planned in this break: 12h. The rest of the pool is rest and buffer, not scheduled.

Notes

CCNP SCOR reality check

Cisco's recommended profile for SCOR (350-701) is 3–5 years implementing security solutions. That is guidance, not a gate, and plenty of strong CCNA-level students pass without a security job behind them.

By S2 you will have a semester of security-adjacent Linux and scripting plus real network-security exposure from your internship. That helps on concepts but not on the Cisco product knowledge SCOR leans on (ISE, Firepower, Umbrella, AMP for Endpoints, Cisco Secure Email), which has no overlap with FortiGate or app-security pentesting.

Budget about 110–150 hours, with hands-on practice (GNS3, CML or pnetlab, Cisco dCloud, or a practice-exam engine like Boson ExSim) on top of the CBT Nuggets videos, not instead of them.

Spread over mid-March to early July (about 15–16 weeks) that is 7–9h a week on average, leaning on June and July. Treat it as softer than the S1 numbers and re-read it after two weeks of real CBT Nuggets material.

Keep Firewall and SNCF as bonus goals. Only start them if SCOR is done with room to spare, say by mid-May.

Still open

Coursework: replace the placeholder hours with real assessments and deadlines for the 5 timetabled modules and the Graduation Project.
Grad project topic: shortlisted in Week 2. The whole S1 build depends on how hard it turns out to be.
PPL placement is not locked in.
IP Protocol part-time internship: still your decision. Tuesday is fully open, and free time is about 24–32.5h per teaching week.
Exam schedule: published around 10 Dec.
Semester 2 still needs its hour-by-hour, literal-topic breakdown.
After Weeks 2–3, compare actual hours with the plan and recalibrate.
Optional lever: if someone else drives your commute, that time could hold flashcards or audio review, useful once SCOR content starts.

Senior Year Plan

Goals

Semester 1

Semester 2

Ground rules

Weekly rhythm

Timetable

Saturday3h40 of class

Sunday3h40 of class

Monday6h of class

Tuesdayno class

Wednesday3h40 of class

Thursday1h50 of class

Friday

Free time

Free hours by day

Semester 1

At a glance

Week 1, 19–24 Sep

Exams and breaks

Exams before the break18–24 Dec

Christmas break25 Dec – 8 Jan

Remaining exams9–21 Jan

Mid-year break23 Jan – 5 Feb

Semester 2

Goals

Week by week

Goals

Week by week

Goals

Week by week

Goals

Week by week

Goals

Week by week

Goals

Week by week

Notes

CCNP SCOR reality check

Still open