2027 Otago National Security School

Te Rā | Date: Friday 19 February 2027
Te Wā | Time: 8:45am - 4:00pm
Te Wāhi |Venue: Hākitekura, 144 Homestead Bay Road, Jack's Point, Queenstown, 9371

A crucial role of the New Zealand university is to be the "critic and conscience of society”, and in the national security domain that often means speaking truth to power. But the university also has research that enters that domain, sometimes through the development of technology that is deemed sensitive and dual-use, and sometimes with foreign research partners who gain or share access to that IP.

Increasingly too, there are conflicts of interest between the university and its partners, particularly in the area of freedom of speech. The campus can then be a contested space, attracting extremism and risking the safety of its community. This makes the university not on the periphery of national security concerns, but often at the centre of it.

This year’s school covers such questions as:

• What impact does the geostrategic environment have on university research?
• How is research being protected and risks managed; what collaboration is happening on research security in NZ?
• What is the state of the relationship between universities and the national security system and how could it be improved?
• Is foreign interference/transnational repression happening on NZ campuses?
• Are universities prepared for a terrorism event?
• How violent extremist content being viewed and shared on campus?