Training

European summer school

by Mark Rowe

In the first week in July, academic staff and students from around Europe visited the University of Portsmouth, pictured, for the annual CONRIS (Cooperation Network for Risk, Safety and Security Studies) European Summer School, hosted in the UK for the first time.

The theme of the Summer School, which was financially supported by the EU’s Erasmus+ programme, resilience technologies consultancy synergia, and the university’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences was “From Global to Local: Delivering Security in Uncertain Times.”

The event was organised by Dr Alison Wakefield, Dr Risto Talas, Dr Leah Fox and Juliet Hasker from the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies (ICJS) at Portsmouth, and drew students from Austria, Belgium, Catalonia, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain.

It brought together students and academic tutors from across Europe, along with guest contributors from government and industry. Those taking part had looked at contemporary security risk management challenges, and strategies for addressing them, with the support of a variety of security specialists. Most CONRIS participants were full-time students in their early 20s, representing the next generation of security practitioners, as organisers said.

Dr Paul Norman, Head of Department, ICJS said afterwards: “We were delighted to host this Erasmus+ supported conference at the University of Portsmouth as part of our global engagement agenda. Our educational collaboration and engagement with the European Union continues to be a priority, and we will continue to plan for these key opportunities for staff and students alike.”

CONRIS (conris.eu) is an academic network, bringing together teaching teams from 19 member universities in nine European countries; Portsmouth is the only UK member. It was set up in 2009, for bringing together academics involved in the delivery of risk, safety and security management courses, every eight or nine months or so, to exchange ideas, develop joint projects and facilitate exchanges of students and staff members via the Erasmus+ programme. It is now represented by institutions from Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the UK. Since 2014, CONRIS has also been running annual summer schools: week long residential courses which the member universities take turns to host, for 30-plus international students from those universities, undergraduates and postgraduates.

This year’s event considered some of the risks and threats in today’s uncertain and interconnected world. Referencing the ISO 31000 international risk management standard, it introduced participants to common and transferable approaches to their management, whether one is working in the public or private sector, or at the international, national, local or organisational level. Talks, exercises, discussions and visits introducing key issues, ideas, methodologies and tactics central to the assessment and management of security risk in a variety of contexts.

Those visits were to Portsmouth International Port and nearby Gunwharf Quays retail mall, to learn about their security concerns and mitigation strategies; practical exercises were delivered by synergia using augmented reality; and talks were by the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI), the official UK government authority providing protective security advice to businesses and organisations across the national infrastructure.

The evening social events included a crisis management pub quiz run by Chris Needham-Bennett of the business continuity and crisis management consultancy Needhams 1834. Other contributors included David Rubens of Deltar Training Solutions, consultant Graeme Dyson, and security recruiter Mike Hurst, Vice Chairman of the UK Chapter of ASIS International, the membership association for security managers.

Thanks to a CPD partnership with the Security Institute, the UK member association for security practitioners, participants were each awarded Security Institute CPD certificates at the end of the school.

Dr Risto Talas said: “CONRIS is a unique network that enables us to collaborate with partner institutions across Europe in the teaching of risk, safety and security studies. Because of the uncertainty about our access to Erasmus+ funding after Brexit, we were keen to host this year’s event. It was a huge success for us in conveying that we remain absolutely committed to working with our CONRIS partner universities and in providing an excellent education for home and international students alike, as well as demonstrating what the UK has to offer internationally in terms of security expertise.”

Dr Alison Wakefield, who is also Chairman of the Security Institute, said: “Every year, the CONRIS Summer School brings together some of the best of the next generation of risk and security practitioners from across Europe. We were really impressed by the students’ engagement and performance throughout the event and demonstrate their potential as the next generation of security practitioners to the employers who supported this event. We hope to build on this year’s success by strengthening links with security employers across Europe, to help these students build connections and bring them to the attention of employers who may well be interested in the capabilities that our CONRIS alumni have to offer.”

Websites of the organisations supporting the Summer School;

•ASIS International, UK Chapter: http://www.asis.org.uk/
•Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (UK government): https://www.cpni.gov.uk/
•CONRIS Cooperation Network for Risk, Safety and Security Studies: https://www.conris.eu/
•Deltar Training Solutions training and risk management consultancy: http://www.deltar-ts.com/
•Erasmus+ European Union programme for education, training, youth and sport: https://www.erasmusplus.org.uk/
•Gunwharf Quays Premium Retail Outlet: https://gunwharf-quays.com/
•HJA Recruitment: http://www.hja.co.uk/
•Needhams 1834 business continuity and crisis management consultancy: http://www.needhams1834.com/content/
•Portsmouth International Port: http://www.portsmouth-port.co.uk/
•Professional Security magazine (editor Mark Rowe participating in the Monday programme): https://professionalsecurity.co.uk/
•Security Institute: https://security-institute.org/
•synergia resilience technologies specialists: http://synergia.biz/
•University of Portsmouth Institute of Criminal Justice Studies: http://www.port.ac.uk/institute-of-criminal-justice-studies/

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