The first duty of our nation’s government, in its own words, is “to protect its citizens and keep the country safe.”
After considerable wrangling, the Defence Investment Plan was released at the end of June and its implementation will be near the top of the new Prime Minister’s to-do list in the coming weeks. And while universities are referenced sporadically in the plan, a further announcement this week – launching the new Defence Universities Alliance (DUA) – has emphasised the critical and increasing role higher education can play in our nation’s security.
The DUA is envisaged as a long-term collaboration between the Ministry of Defence, the UK Armed Forces, the Office of the Chief Scientific Advisor for National Security and the higher education sector. It is designed to provide students with better access to defence careers, and staff the opportunity to contribute cutting-edge research to the defence industry.
We are immensely proud that our university – which sits at the heart of a city boasting western Europe’s largest naval base and dozens of defence business – has been chosen among the DUA’s 35 founding members. But in spite of its launch, it remains our firm belief that cutting-edge and multidisciplinary education across all levels must play a greater role in enabling the ambitious vision for defence that our country requires.
Dynamics new and old
The political debate over defence turns on a number of well-rehearsed deliberations: where to find the money to meet the UK’s defence needs; what geopolitical challenges to prioritise; how to balance our national need with our NATO commitments.
Advances in technology over recent decades have added to those considerations, and political and military leaders now face further tough choices: how do you balance the maintenance of important legacy defence systems, such as aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines, with the opportunities and challenges of emerging disruptive technologies such as autonomy, quantum systems, cyberspace, space technologies, and hypersonics?
These same decisional dynamics play out in times of war and peace. But this pitching of old technologies against new has been demonstrated beyond any doubt in two conflicts – the United States and Israel’s war against Iran, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – that have made headlines throughout this year.
Such deliberations stretch beyond government, with industry having to decide which technologies to develop in meeting defence requirements and finance must choose which bets to back. And while education has been a largely silent factor in the debate over defence spending, emerging technology and military strategy, we believe that needs to change.
Our government’s decision to trigger a paradigm shift towards new technologies is at the heart of the Defence Investment Plan – and it will require new kinds of well-educated graduates across a range of disciplines, and in sizeable quantities.
Defence education
This revolution in military affairs, and the changing nature of how we maintain our national security, demands a highly-skilled and adaptable workforce. From nuclear submarine welders to marine engineers and the army of virtual pilots for first person view drones, the country or alliance that can educate most effectively, remain intellectually agile and responsive to rapidly changing needs is better placed to succeed.
At our university, we’re already part of the quiet revolution underway on defence education. We believe our efforts to meet such challenges in the maritime domain provide a blueprint of what can be achieved.
There’s no question Britain’s position as an island nation places it under threat from many sides: military surveillance by drones; hybrid warfare attacks on undersea cables; the growth of the Russian shadow fleet; new generations of cruise-missile launching submarines; persistent GPS jamming; and spoofing of commercial navigation.
To counter that, we have developed a unique constellation of maritime programmes and facilities. Our Cyber-SHIP Lab has gained national and international recognition, including being referenced in the UK’s industrial strategy for its vanguard efforts in maritime cyber defence. Our new Centre for Marine Autonomy, Maritime Cyber Security and Technology is focused on autonomy and operates in close cooperation with industry, the Royal Navy and the Ministry of Defence.
In parallel, our teaching and research in maritime security and strategy has led to a long association with NATO’s Allied Maritime Command in Northwood. And joint degrees with the Hellenic Defence College and University of the Bundeswehr in Germany have fostered a wide professional military network with Plymouth at its core.
Future graduates
We are not alone in recognising how a nation facing our particular types of threats requires a new type of graduate. Universities and colleges up and down the UK, many of them now also members of the DUA, are identifying how they can contribute to the future defence workforce. The next stage will be to explore how to integrate expertise across disciplines into a new cadre of academics, government special advisors, captains of finance, industry and technology, and the Armed Forces.
We need scientists who, for example, understand how climate change impacts oceanography and shifts in thermoclines that impact submarine detection. We need creatives who can enhance simulation, digital communication and design. We need experts in business and entrepreneurship to work within a different kind of innovation ecosystem. We need communicators focused on improving engagement, resilience and collaboration.
We also need to bear in mind that national security decisions are made by people and – even in an increasingly AI-enabled world – that will remain the case. So we need people who appreciate the rapid transformation of marine and military technology. We need people with a clear understanding of law and geopolitics, of business and of financial models. We need people of broad vision based on roots in multiple key disciplines.
Top table
Recently announced funding from the Office for Students – an £80m investment in defence-related skills at 24 universities and colleges – was a step in the right direction. And for us here in Plymouth, which will receive the largest share of funding of any institution in England, it will boost our efforts to inspire and educate the next generation of defence professionals.
Precisely how the DUA will further those programmes and strengthen the connections between academia and Whitehall is yet to be seen. But if everything that’s been said to this point comes to pass, it will rightly place us at the top table of enhancing our national alongside government and industry.
Joining that coalition will enable us to play our role in developing the future defence workforce through integrated curricula, research and innovation activities that deliver the required pipeline of skilled, intelligent and inventive professionals. We believe that – in tandem with our wider education and industry partners – we are innovating the appropriate solutions. And we eagerly await the opportunity to put more of those ideas into action.
