The First Sea Lord's Sea Power Conference is the Royal Navy's flagship annual conference and is delivered by the Council on Geostrategy.
The focus of this year's conference is on an important and long-term priority - the future of the Royal Navy and its vision for 2040. The aim is to foster a dialogue between delegates from the private and public sectors - officers, officials, parliamentarians, industry, media and academia.
To enrich the conference and strengthen the Royal Navy's links with academia, the Royal Navy are collaborating with three universities from across the country to deliver satellite events - The University of Cambridge, City of Glasgow College, and Lancaster University.
This is the first time they have engaged with a consortium of UK universities to deliver events as part of this conference. Lancaster University was chosen based on its academic excellence and reputation in the field of sea power and maritime security.
The Lancaster event focused on "Cyber capabilities in the maritime domain and their importance for the UK". It explored the role of cyber in the maritime space and the capabilities that it grants the Royal Navy. It also addressed how cyber is used to keep important maritime trading routes open and how the UK plans to ensure its cyber capabilities are state-of-the-art in the future.
Attended by over 50 university students and staff, the event was opened by Basil Germond, Professor of International Security at Lancaster University. He addressed why the maritime domain is so important for the UK and discussed the impact, challenges and opportunities around sea power, maritime security and cyber resilience.
Basil said: "In a time of uncertainty, the sea is of uttermost importance for the UK's security and prosperity. Yet, the stability of the maritime order is increasingly at risk. This event was a fantastic opportunity to showcase Lancaster's unique interdisciplinary expertise in maritime and cyber security."
A panel session chaired by Simon Cook, Professor in Practice at Lancaster University brought together Lancaster experts in cyber security, international security and cyber maritime.
The speakers discussed a range of themes including the impact of cyber and AI on the Royal Navy, maritime threats from a technology perspective, and the role of cyber to support the Royal Navy in the humanitarian aspects of their work. The panel was joined by Manto Lourantaki from the Maritime Cyber Unit Reservist who uses her external expertise and knowledge from business to support the Royal Navy with their activities.
The session ended with questions from the audience to the panel, and following the event, there were further opportunities for networking, knowledge sharing and discussion between students, staff and representatives from the Royal Navy and the Council on Geostrategy.
Speakers included:
- Professor Joe Burton, Professor of International Security, Lancaster University
- Professor Simon Cook, Professor in Practice, Lancaster University
- Professor Basil Germond, Professor of International Security, Lancaster University
- Manto Lourantaki, Maritime Cyber Unit Reservist
- Professor Dan Prince, Professor of Cyber Security, Lancaster University
- Dr Kevin Rowlands, Head, Royal Navy Strategic Studies Centre
- Dr Simona Soare, Senior Lecturer, Lancaster University
This event was organised by the Council of Geostrategy in partnership with Lancaster University
