KICK OFF - KTH Centre for Total Defence

The new Centre will focus on three key areas:

1. External coordination and visibility – positioning KTH as a central partner in the field of total defence, able to contribute to national initiatives such as Campus Totalförsvar and serve as a contact point for authorities and industry.

2. Internal coordination and knowledge dissemination – connecting existing research and education at KTH and making it more accessible to both internal and external stakeholders.

3. Interdisciplinary collaboration and research development – fostering new partnerships across disciplines through scenario-based crisis workshops, expert lectures, research initiatives, and training activities.

To support these aims, the Centre will host a series of workshops in fall 2025, featuring external guest speakers who will address different aspects of Totalförsvar, alongside KTH researchers presenting their ongoing projects in research and education.

The purpose of the seminar series is to begin shaping the Centre as an arena where KTH can strengthen its contribution to Totalförsvar.

Welcome to listen, share your perspectives, and join the discussion on how we can develop the Centre together!

Programme (pre registration)
The presentations will be held in English, but pictures and presentations may be in Swedish.

10:00-10:15
Annika Borgenstam , Professor, Vice rector forskning, officially opens the Center

10:15 – 11:30
Keynote lecture:
Hans de Bruijn , Professor of governance at Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands and a expert on multi-actor decision making presents various cases on how decision making processes in complex systems with multiple actors can lead to conflicts or sustainable solutions:
‘High Stakes, Many Stakeholders: How to Deal with the Many Actors and Their Different Views?’

Decision-making on crisis management and total defense often involves many actors with conflicting interests and views. This naturally complicates cooperation and makes it difficult to make decisions, let alone do so quickly. This interactive lecture addresses the question of what strategies can be employed to align these different interests. How to create incentives for cooperation? How can stakeholders be stimulated to take ownership of collective decision-making? How can trust be built between parties?

11:30-12:00
Lunch for registered participants

12:00 – 13:00
Kjell Engelbrekt , dekan, Professor, Försvarshögskolan

Swedish Defence University och Lars Henriksson, professor i juridik, Handelshögskolan, ’Ekonomisk säkerhet som grundpelare i totalförsvaret’

13:00 – 13:30
Gunnar Karlsson , Continuous education for total defence – a role for KTH

13:30 – 14:00
Discussion

Registration

For questions, please contact Nicole Kringos, kringos@kth.se  and Annina H. Persson, ahpe@kth.se .

Workshops upcoming dates:
7/11
26/11

KTH launches new centre for total defence