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British universities are an ¡°under-leveraged¡± asset for war fighting preparations and should be integrated into national resilience planning, a thinktank has said.?

As the likelihood of global conflicts intensifies and the UK government looks to ramp up its defence capabilities, higher education institutions can offer capabilities spanning defence, public health, skills, logistics and democratic stability support, according to Gary Fisher, senior learning designer at the University of Derby.

But, in a new policy note published by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi), Fisher argues this capability ¡°remains under-leveraged and poorly integrated into national preparedness¡±, in part?because of a lack of recognition and coordination by policymakers.

Earlier this year, the government published a new Strategic Defence Review, which mentioned the role universities play in defence research and skills training. Despite this, ¡°there is as yet no systematic policy approach for integrating higher education institutions into the UK¡¯s emergency planning and national readiness frameworks,¡± the report says.?

But, he writes, the role universities can play is significant: ¡°Ukraine offers a compelling contemporary case: its universities have served as shelters, aid hubs, research centres and diplomatic platforms in wartime, a model the UK higher education sector could exceed given its greater scale and integration.¡±

Over 100 British universities have partnered with Ukrainian institutions to provide support during the war, with activities including donations of bomb shelters and lab equipment, to joint research projects on urban recovery planning.

These efforts, Fisher writes, demonstrate that modern universities ¡°are not just observers of conflict nor simply exporters of humanitarian goodwill¡±.

¡°They are active geopolitical actors,¡± he writes, that can bypass ¡°state bureaucracy¡± and leverage ¡°academic relationships to deliver support quickly and credibly¡±.

However, domestic defence activity by UK universities ¨C which includes training military personnel and supporting veterans, among more peripheral activities ¨C is ¡°fragmented, often informal, and largely absent from official contingency frameworks¡±.

Many universities are currently looking to step up their defence work to align with government priorities and to tap into new funding pots at a time of sector-wide financial strain.

But while Fisher calls for universities to be recognised for their capabilities in this area, he warns that mobilisation done poorly is risky.

¡°Strengths that make universities effective in moments of crisis such as intellectual autonomy, civic trust and international legitimacy can be undermined if they are politicised, coerced or stripped of their critical functions,¡± he writes.

¡°History shows the damage that can follow when academic freedom is sacrificed to wartime expediency.¡±

He says the integration of universities into resilience planning ¡°must preserve their independence, ensuring they remain sites of open enquiry, civic pluralism, and democratic continuity¡±.

Commenting on the report, Nick Hillman, director of Hepi, said: ¡°Sadly, the world is a much less safe place than it was.

¡°History shows UK universities have an important role to play, including in training the military and helping veterans, delivering health security and serving as a critical source of democratic resilience.¡±

Fisher added, ¡°If government fails to substantively integrate higher education into preparedness planning, it risks leaving one of our strongest assets untapped.¡±

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com