Security & Resilience Summer School

60 contact hours spread over two weeks covering lectures, workshops, tutorials, project work, social activities and relevant visits. Classes will be delivered on weekdays.

Students will be placed in small groups for project work which will be undertaken through team-based learning with supervision. A final project will be presented in groups to a panel of experts on the last day of the programme. A prize will be awarded to the team with the highest-scoring project.

The entire programme will be taught in English.

On completion of this summer school, students will be able to understand, define and place in the wider societal context:

• Who and what are the main security threats and risks across a range of sectors
• The main physical threats, detection and mitigation measures in key sectors
• The specific vulnerabilities of electronic infrastructure, cyber presence, communication networks
• Common threats and mitigation measures across all sectors
• The behaviour of humans and threat actors
• Establish an understanding of current trends and best practice data visualisation
• Understand the importance of research ethics and ethics of digital technologies
• Develop valuable professional skills in teamwork, communication and presentation
• Experience team-based learning through a group project

In addition, students will have an opportunity to make new friends, get to know student ambassadors from Imperial College London through social activities, discuss opportunities for future study and experience what it is like to study at a world-class university.

Students will be working in small teams on a scenario-based group project. Groups will be presented with a security risk/threat, and will be expected to discuss and understand:

• how and why the threat/activity occur
• what relevant controls and aspects of security and resilience were in place
• how the situation is controlled
• the failures and oversights
• effective mitigation
• overall societal impact

Supervised by Imperial academics throughout, students will present their findings to a panel of experts on the last day of the programme.

This course, led by academic, technical and professional staff from the Institute for Security and Technology (ISST) and its partners, offers you a unique opportunity to learn about the many threats (cyber, physical, environmental, natural and social) that we face, and the role of science and technology in addressing them. Organisations, communities, critical infrastructure sectors, cities, nations, and beyond have a growing need to be more secure and resilient.

This course will equip you with a broad range of skills to address the security and resilience need across industry, government, academia, and society at large. You will learn how emerging and disruptive technologies are driving both challenges and solutions, whilst examining cyber, physical and cyber-physical threats to critical national infrastructure sectors such as transport, energy and healthcare. Additionally, you will learn the basics of research methods for the relevant social aspects including human cognition and behaviour.

The two weeks course has two main components: introduction to security and resilience concepts, and a group project. Other activities include demonstrations and site visits.

During Week 1, you will be introduced to the main concepts of security and resilience, and the related group project to be worked on over the duration of the course. The group project will be on “Systems engineering-based design of a security and resilience architecture for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) focussing on situational awareness technologies and operational transport networks” and will provide you the opportunity to apply your understanding in practical and student-led sessions. You will also develop project management and effective communication skills. 

During Week 2, you will explore the fundamentals of emerging and disruptive technologies and their bi-directional relationship with security and resilience. You will also be introduced to CBRNE (chemical, biological, radiation, nuclear and explosives) threats, and their mitigations. You will then learn about the social dimension to security and resilience, including human cognition and behaviour, and apply your learning to security and resilience challenges related to smart and sustainable cities.

The programme will conclude with a wider look at global security challenges including those related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and the presentation of your group projects to an esteemed judging panel. 

The summer school Academic Director is Professor Washington Ochieng:

Professor Washington Ochieng, Interim Director of the Institute for Security Science and Technology. He is also the Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Chair in Positioning and Navigation Systems at Imperial College London.

The programme will be taught by a multi-disciplinary teaching faculty from the ISST and other departments of Imperial College London.

Dr William Proud 

Bill is Reader in Shock Physics at the Department of Physics, and a Security Science Fellow at the Institute. His main research interest is into high strain rate properties of a wide range of materials, both inert and energetic. Bill is the academic course director for the MSc Security and Resilience course.

Dr Mireille Elhajj

Dr Elhajj is a Visiting Associate Professor at Imperial College London, Co-lead of the ISST Infrastructure and Transport Security Module, the Founder and CEO of Astraterra a consultancy based in London specializing in smart cities and mobility solutions; and positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) systems design and applications. Dr. Elhajj is a fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation (AFRIN).

Jane Lac

Jane is the ISST Operations Director, she has overall responsibility for the operational and financial management of the Institute. She is responsible for financial planning, the implementation of the Institute’s strategy against its mission, the development of its education portfolio, and leads on the Security and Resilience MSc as Co-Director.

The Institute of Security Science and Technology (ISST) is a major Imperial College London initiative that brings together Imperial’s existing security science activities and expertise and provides a focus and a catalyst to challenge that perception and demonstrate the breadth and depth of a topic that touches everyone in society, wherever they are in the world.

Individuals, organisations and nations experience insecurity in diverse ways, ranging from scarcity of water, nutrition and natural resources through to economic hardship, political instability, health crises and exposure to hostile threats from criminals, terrorists and nation states. Our goal is to understand and solve these complex, interrelated global challenges through the development and application of world-leading science and technology; a hallmark of Imperial College London.

As our societies and infrastructures become ever more interconnected, slow formulaic security reactions will need to give way to predictive analysis, agility and continual learning. In an imperfect socio-technical world, we believe that science and technology guided by the values of inclusivity, stability, peace and equity for all, as described by the UN Sustainable Development Goals, is the best way to strive for global security and that these values are worth defending.

As humanity extends its presence beyond the surface of the planet, moves towards the birth of true artificial intelligence and harnesses the quantum scale, we are committed to working with the best minds from academia, industry and government who share our view that science and technology can deliver a more secure and resilient world for everyone.

Students will receive an Imperial College London certificate of attendance on successful completion of this programme. Each student will also receive a document with their project mark.