By David Graff, ENGINEERING Dekansekretariat. Translated by: LeeAnn Giovanni, AAU Communication. Foto: Forsvaret/Rune Dyrholm

How can aircraft communications be made more secure against cyberattacks? How do we improve our ability to find landmines and render them harmless? How can we technologically support sharing of satellite resources?

These are questions that AAU researchers will answer in the coming years in conjunction with European partners in industry, defence and research as a result of new grants from the European Defence Fund. In the latest application round, AAU was responsible for three applications all of which received funding totalling EUR 1.2 million. The university is also a subcontractor on several other projects.

The security of Europe and Denmark is the priority

Rector Per Michael Johansen explains that the grants dovetail with the university's strategy and desire to make research available for European and Danish security:

- The world is changing, and Denmark's defence and security has become an important political priority. This is not only due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but also shifts in the global balance of power where, not least, China has joined the fray. I think that many Danes have realized that we cannot take for granted the democracy and liberal values that Denmark professes and believe that this is something other countries' leaders will aspire to. We now understand that this is something we may have to defend, says the rector.

Defence-related research is growing at Danish universities, and at Aalborg University, the AAU Defence unit has been put in charge of coordinating the work. AAU Defence will ensure strong cooperation between AAU and industry so that Danish and European companies can maintain competitiveness when it comes to the solutions the Danish Armed Forces need.

- The international angle with a strong focus on the partnership between industry and research also fits perfectly into the new defence agreement’s emphasis on research and development in cooperation with our NATO and EU partners. At AAU, we are ready to contribute to this agenda, the rector elaborates.

Broad efforts bear fruit

Per Michael Johansen explains that as early as 2017 Aalborg University initiated dialogues with European partners on defence and security technologies. Since then, AAU has built relationships with leading European research institutions and companies in the field, and invested time in providing scientific knowledge and expertise to the European Commission's policy departments.

- A great credit to the efforts over the years that are now bearing fruit. In addition, we are accustomed to working in the European context, and this is now also proving to be an advantage when it comes to defence and security, says Per Michael Johansen.

He also emphasizes both the breadth and necessity of the topics that Aalborg University will now contribute to with research:

- With the new grants, we will work on everything from satellite communications to clearing mines. This speaks to what universities can offer in solving some of the major challenges we face. For example, we are very proud of the project on finding landmines as this is an example of technology that unfortunately is very topical, given the situation in Ukraine. When this disastrous war hopefully ends soon, we face a humanitarian challenge, says Per Michael Johansen.