Imperial, the European Commission and key stakeholders across the European R&I community met in Belgium to talk about defence and security research.

Professor Julie McCann, Vice-Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Engineering spoke at the Science|Business conference about the importance and great potential of cross-European collaboration for research into technologies that can create mutual benefits in national security and resilience. As part of a plenary panel session, Professor McCann spoke about her research into sensor-based systems and the positive collaborations as part of European Union Framework Programme projects focused on supporting critical national infrastructure, such as water and power networks.

Appearing alongside representatives from Boeing International and the European Commission, the panel discussed the opportunities for collaboration across the EU, UK and US, with significant scale required to work on research and innovation. This includes working with NATO and its DIANA programme, who’s first hub was launched at Imperial in March 2023.

The all-day conference hosted a number of speakers from across the European Commission, EU member governments and industry experts to talk about the future of dual-use technology within the EU and early conversations about the next European Framework Programme, FP10. Signe Ratso, Deputy Director-General for Research and Innovation in the European Commission said that the EU needed to carefully consider the needs of associated countries, such as the UK, to framework programmes with any future development.  

You can watch the conference back in the video below. Professor McCann’s session starts at 02:50:00.