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The 1024�˹��� hosted the for the first time this week, for a multi-disciplinary conference exploring the theme of UK Coastal Security and Communities. 

The Royal Navy Strategic Studies Centre serves as the 'think tank' for the Service, by harnessing internal and external intellect and progressive thought to guide and strengthen future decision making.

Hosted by the School of Area Studies, Sociology, History, Politics and Literature (SASHPL), the event brought together academic staff from across all five faculties, along with external speakers. It highlighted that threats and challenges for the Navy come from malign states to microplastics, and the solutions may come from advanced technology or from better understanding coastal communities - their past, present, and hopes for the future.

The panel exploring the intersection between maritime security strategy and ocean sustainability was supported by the University’s Centre for Blue Governance.

Key speakers included:

• Professor Peter Lee, Director of the Security and Risk research and innovation theme.
• Professor Adrian Hopgood, Director of the Future and Emerging Technologies theme.
• Professor Steve Fletcher, Director of the Sustainability and the Environment theme.
• Professor Richard Teeuw, Professor of Geoinformatics and Disaster Risk Reduction.
• Professor Shabbar Jaffry, Professor of Economics.
• Dr Melanie Bassett, Research Fellow in Public Engagement.
• , Lecturer in Public History at UCL.
• Dr Ya Huang, Senior Lecturer in Engineering Dynamics.
• Sophie Quintin, PhD Candidate in Maritime Security.

Dr Matthew Heaslip, Senior Lecturer in Naval History at the 1024�˹��� and conference organiser said: “This multidisciplinary event has helped improve awareness of key influences on UK maritime security strategy in coastal waters, by exploring a range of challenges, opportunities, and historical legacies that will define the Royal Navy’s future responses close to home in a rapidly changing world.”