Preparedness for knowledge ¨C a term with new meaning

Dear colleagues,

?Preparedness for knowledge? no longer solely concerns having a knowledge base to be prepared for future needs. Recently, the term has gained new meanings related to crisis management, security, and defence.

A new way of thinking about research

The Research Council's new strategy (in Norwegian) discusses national security and preparedness in connection with research more clearly than before.

It has been common to distinguish between research for civilian/general purposes (including basic research, of course) and research for military purposes. Now, the authorities signal a relaxation of the boundaries, described as an integrated research system.

The rationale is that civilian actors can and should contribute with defence-relevant research, technology, and knowledge that can strengthen our defence capabilities. This is a form of preparedness for knowledge based on collaboration between civilian and military research and innovation environments ¨C intended ?dual use?.

Sometimes ?dual use? can pose a threat

However, dual use of research and innovation results is not always intended and can sometimes represent a risk. This form of dual use refers to applications that may constitute some kind of threat.

For instance, research results and methods might be intercepted by an actor who uses the knowledge to produce new weapons or to develop new methods of sabotage.

Genetic technology is a well-known example of a research area with the potential not only to provide new treatment methods but also to create biological weapons. Machine learning can be used for effective image diagnostics but also to develop systems for destructive purposes. Can society protect itself against such unintended dual use?

UiO takes necessary precautions

One way to protect society is to prevent new knowledge with dual use potential from falling into the wrong hands. To prevent this, there are several regulations that UiO has adapted and gathered on an information page about Responsible international cooperation.

Recently, attention has been heightened by the Police Security Service (PST) visiting universities and communicating with many of us in both leadership and academic environments. It's also new that PST openly shares information about a threat landscape few have considered. In PST¡¯s national threat assessment for 2024, the word "research" appears 14 times.

MED follows up in dialogue with other medical faculties

Responsible international cooperation will be an important focus area for our faculty. We are in dialogue with the other universities in the BOTT collaboration (Bergen-Oslo-Trondheim-Troms?), with other faculties at UiO, and, naturally, with our leadership. We take this seriously, while also remaining calm and striving to find the right balance between our fundamental needs for collaboration, openness, and information sharing, and the legitimate needs to be cautious about our activities. The rectorate has a good summary of this issue in Norwegian.

Best regards,

Jan