Case Studies
Roundtable Discussion: What Pull Factors Draw Migrants to Use Illegal Routes to the UK (at significant risk to their lives) and What Can Be Done to Stop It?
In November 2025 the Network for Security Excellence and Collaboration (NSEC), with sponsorship from Leonardo UK, organised a two-day roundtable on pull factors for unauthorised migration to the UK. The aim of this event was to provide a platform for collaborative dialogue and strategic insights into one of the most pressing challenges in border security. The event brought together representatives of the problem owners, policymakers, civil society and researchers to exchange knowledge and insights, to ask the ‘right’ questions and brainstorm on effective policy responses.
Link to the Roundtable Discussion: What Pull Factors Draw Migrants to Use Illegal Routes to the UK (at significant risk to their lives) and What Can Be Done to Stop It?
Roundtable discussion: How can we manage the risk from AI to spread Information Disorder?
Overview
This summary report captures the insights from a two-day roundtable hosted by Cranfield University and the Network for Security Excellence and Collaboration (NSEC), exploring the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Information Disorder (ID). The event brought together policymakers, academics, and industry experts to assess the risks posed by AI-driven disinformation and to propose actionable strategies for mitigation.
Link to the Roundtable Discussion: How can we manage the risk from AI to spread Information Disorder?
Roundtable Discussion: Building Resilience in the UK’s Electromagnetic Environment
Overview
This report summarises expert discussions on strengthening resilience in the UK’s electromagnetic environment (EME), highlighting growing risks from natural hazards, malicious interference, and systemic vulnerabilities across interconnected critical infrastructure. It emphasises that disruption is inevitable rather than hypothetical, with key challenges including over-reliance on technologies like GNSS, limited understanding of system interdependencies, and gaps in skills, data sharing, and preparedness. The report concludes with recommendations focused on embedding “resilience by design,” improving risk management and coordination, addressing capability gaps, and enhancing national preparedness to ensure the UK can better anticipate, withstand, and recover from electromagnetic disruptions.
Link to the Roundtable Discussion: Building Resilience in the UK’s Electromagnetic Environment
Future Biodetection Technologies Hub
After contacts being made through NSEC a research proposal was submitted to Research England’s Expanding Excellence in England call, to develop the Future Biodetection Technologies Hub at the University of Hertfordshire, in collaboration with Cranfield University, The University of Leeds and The University of Manchester has been funded.
The collaborative team hope to develop new technologies to address real-world applications impacting human, animal and plant health, as well as to develop instrumentation that enhances our understanding of atmospheric processes associated with climate change and its impacts.