KTH launches new centre for total defence
Amid increasing security challenges and a changing geopolitical landscape, KTH is establishing a Centre for Total Defence with the aim of coordinating, developing and highlighting research and education with direct relevance to societal security and resilience.
On the back of Sweden’s entry into NATO, the new centre departs from the need for national coordination on total defence issues. Society's dependence on technical systems in energy, infrastructure, digitalisation and production makes it vulnerable - not only to military threats, but also to peacetime crises, cyberattacks and other disruptions.
“We are in a new security policy situation where civil and military defence must interact in completely new ways. With this centre, KTH wants to take an active responsibility in building knowledge and capacity to meet the threats and challenges of the future," says professor Nicole Kringos, who together with professor Annina H. Persson are the principal investigators for the centre.
A central partner
The new centre will focus on three areas:
1. External coordination and visibility: KTH will be a central partner in the field of total defence, with the capacity to participate in national initiatives, such as Campus Total Defence , and act as a contact point for authorities and companies.
2. Internal coordination and dissemination of knowledge: linking and making existing research and education within KTH more accessible both to internal and external stakeholders.
3. Stimulation of interdisciplinary collaboration and research development: the centre can create conditions for new collaborations across subject boundaries. This include scenario-based crisis workshops, expert lectures, initiating and facilitating research, and training activities.
The centre will also have an advisory reference group to provide feedback and strategic input.
KTH provides key expertise
Professor Annina H. Persson stresses the importance of thinking system-wide:
"KTH has particular expertise in areas such as cybersecurity, transport, energy and construction, but it is only when we connect these that we can understand and protect the complex systems on which our society is built," she says.
Contact KTH Centre for Total Defence
Text: Sturle Hauge Simonsen ( sturle@kth.se )