– Sweden is making significant investments in total defense, and Lund University has every opportunity to contribute with socially important research and education in the area. I am very pleased and proud that the university's investment in LUPREP is becoming a reality and that the faculties' multifaceted knowledge is now being consolidated, says Erik Renström, Vice-Chancellor of Lund University, in a press release from the institution.
The new center, named LUPREP – Lund University Centre of Preparedness and Resilience – will gather research from seven of the university's eight faculties. The activities also include a new graduate school with six doctoral positions, four of which are in social science defense research and two with a legal focus.
– We are very pleased that this initiative, which we have long wanted to implement, is finally becoming a reality. Lund University has extensive research in the area, and by bringing it together under a common umbrella, we can better leverage our collective expertise, says Agnes Andersson, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences.
According to the press release, two new master's programs are under development; one focuses on total defense and civil preparedness and is aimed at students and professionals in the preparedness sector. The other, focusing on total defense and security policy, will be offered in English and is aimed at social scientists, lawyers, and economists, both nationally and internationally.
The center will be located at Campus Helsingborg, where the Psychological Defense Institute and the Helsingborg Safety Hub are also situated. The latter is a research environment that uses virtual reality, driving simulators, and GIS technology to study security issues. Three additional research projects on defense have recently been awarded funding and will be conducted within the framework of the center.