Projects

King’s are involved in a number of large multi-year programmes, aimed at tackling some of today’s most pressing defence and security challenges.

These bring together key stakeholders from the academic, NGO, government, military and industry communities to work together collectively on complex issues that include security into the Indo-Pacific, the AUKUS trilateral security partnership, operational concepts, doctrine and strategic futures for the UK government and its allies, and the protection of vulnerable nuclear materials.  

PLuS Alliance and Security & Defence PLuS

Through Security & Defence PLuS (S&D+) staff across King’s College London work closely with PLuS Alliance colleagues at Arizona State University (ASU) and the University of New South Wales (UNSW) to deliver cutting edge research and education on current and emerging security challenges.

S&D+ brings together researchers and practitioners from across the three universities and was inspired by the AUKUS security pact, launched by the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia in September 2021. AUKUS is designed to strengthen the ability of each country to support mutual security and defence interests by promoting deeper military cooperation and technology sharing. AUKUS comprises two “pillars”: the first focuses on supplying Australia with conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines; the second focuses on “Advanced Capabilities” including cyber, artificial intelligence and autonomy, quantum technologies, undersea capabilities, hypersonic and counter-hypersonic capabilities, among other technologies. 

KIASS supports the work of Security S&D+ by facilitating professional education focused on AUKUS, the Indo-Pacific region and related security and defence issues. Harnessing the combined research and education capacity of the PLuS Alliance, KIASS draws on deep subject matter specialisms from across the three universities in developing and delivering unparalleled professional education opportunities in the defence and security field.

KIASS offers a wide range of education interventions ranging from short courses - some of which are accredited - to full Masters programmes, delivered in a variety of online, residential and hybrid formats. Many of these programmes focus on specific aspects relevant to the work of Security S&D+ and the broader AUKUS and Indo-Pacific context, including courses on Artificial Intelligence, China-West Relations and Indo-Pacific: Culture and Decision-Making, among many others. 

Global Strategic Partnership

KIASS also provides bespoke activities on these themes, including residential workshops and wargaming exercises, that can be tailored to meet the needs of external clients. These activities focus on the professional development of employees through equipping them with knowledge about current and emerging global challenges, as well as the necessary critical thinking skills to help navigate a fast-evolving security landscape. These bespoke interventions build on decades of experience working with clients across governments and international organisations. 

The Global Strategic Partnership is a consortium of leading academic, NGO and industry organisations led by the RAND Corporation. It provides support to the UK Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre (DCDC) work in developing joint doctrine, operational concepts and strategic futures for the UK government and its allies. As a key member of the consortium, King’s subject matter experts have been providing research, advice and support from the creation of focused analyses on evolving threats and future challenges, through to the organisation of workshops and learning.

As part of the GSP’s offering, the King’s academic Dr Duraid Jalili has taken the role as DCDC’s Senior Academic Advisor, supporting the development of DCDC’s strategy and outputs through a range of activities. This includes providing consultancy and challenge for individual products (including the upcoming Future Operating Concept and Global Strategic Trends), support for ongoing organisational change reviews, development of new methodological training and education systems, and expansion of external subject matter expert networks.

Read more about the Global Strategic Partnership

 Nuclear Security Culture Programme

From 2014 to 2022 King’s led the UK’s UK’s Nuclear Security Culture Programme (NSCP), which worked internationally to strengthen the security of nuclear materials around the world. Under this programme King’s and their industry partners Nuclear Transport Solutions and Amport Risk Ltd., delivered more than 80 activities online, in the UK and internationally in over ten countries engaging thousands of government officials and industry practitioners working on nuclear security issues. 

With a focus on exploring the influence of human factors within nuclear security systems, the NSCP informed and influenced international nuclear security debates and policies by developing recommendations and participating in major international conferences on emergent nuclear security issues. At the operational level the NSCP strengthened industry practive by examining how nuclear security can be effectively implmented in different operational environments, providing bespoke support for individual organisations' efforts to enhance nuclear security culture. 

Nuclear Security Culture Programme major outputs

• A Nuclear Security Briefing Book which serves as a ‘one-stop nuclear security reference guide’ informing discussions on the international nuclear security regime; 

• Side-events at IAEA General Conferences and other major international nuclear security events, for example on ‘Nuclear Security Considerations for Decommissioning’ and ‘Nuclear Security during Times of Crisis;

• International workshops for practitioners on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials, Radiological Source Security, Insider Threats and Nuclear Security in Academic and Research Institutes; 

• Specialised training courses on nuclear security culture and its assessment. These are underpinned by the experience of UK practitioners in planning and implementing nuclear security as well as research, conducted by King’s staff, into real-life cases where insiders and external adversaries have circumvented nuclear security systems;

• Applied research into different aspects of nuclear security including policy papers and handbooks on ‘Lessons for Nuclear Security from the UK’s Response to Covid-19’,  ‘Nuclear Security in Times of Crisis’ and ‘Nuclear Security Culture in Practice’;

• Support for the Atomic Energy Licensing Board of Malaysia in conducting a security culture self-assessment at the Triga Puspati Reactor;

• A peer review of physical protection systems at the GHARR-1 research reactor in Ghana.