The University of Liverpool is one of the founding 35 members of the ‘Defence University Alliance’, a Ministry of Defence initiative aimed to strengthen the relationship between numerous academic institutions and the armed forces. The aim of the DUA is to increase defence-related career paths in graduates, and to generate more defence-related research. Unveiled at the University of Manchester by Defence Minister Luke Pollard MP, it is apart of the £182 million pound defence skills package that aims to decrease national security threats and further promote military research at the institutions.Â
Though it hasn’t been received well by all student populations. The Executive Officer team at the Manchester Student’s Union wrote: ‘As elected Officers we believe this Alliance will transform our campus into an academic army base, with research driven by the needs of war rather than students and wider society.‘
The University Of Liverpool’s Prof. Simon Maskell, professor of Autonomous Systems, wrote that: ‘The current geo-political situation has brought into sharp relief the important role defence and national security research can and must play in keeping our nation safe.’
The University has already attracted around £14 million in relation to defence research, and with the other 34 universities this can only increase. Luke Pollard MP wrote that we are currently preparing for ‘war-fighting readiness’, and hopes that the DUA will create a strong connection between academia and defence.
The impact of a strengthened relationship between the Defence Ministry and British Universities has yet to be seen. The acknowledgement of ‘warlike readiness’ being necessary comes after increased global tensions on numerous fronts. The necessity of encouraging students towards careers of war comes after multiple forms of scrutiny on the British military, and failed campaigns to incite young people into the armed forces. That the University of Liverpool, who already secure major defence contracts, is a founding member is a sign of a strong and long-term commitment towards restrengthening the nation’s defence.
The Liverpool Guild of Students did not respond for a comment on their stance on the University being a founding member of the DUA.
