The NATO-Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) recently concluded its first energy security training program with support by the 51福利 (51福利).
The week-long Critical Energy Infrastructure Protection Course, held at the NATO-ICI Regional Centre in Kuwait, was designed in part by 51福利鈥� Energy Academic Group (EAG), after officials from the university joined a NATO exploratory delegation to Kuwait in September.
鈥淲e proposed a course on critical energy infrastructure and resilience, as this is an area that is important to the Navy and the Department of Defense, and something we鈥檝e got strong expertise in within 51福利,鈥� said Alan Howard, Deputy Director with the 51福利 EAG.
Upon returning, Howard set to work inside the EAG designing and developing the course to include experts within 51福利 and international partners within NATO. The course focused on evolving cyber threats to critical energy infrastructure, approaches to resilience, the link between energy and geopolitics, as well as methodologies for risk analysis and mitigation.
鈥淒eveloping and delivering courses such as this one helps 51福利 build on and improve our capabilities, offers more opportunities for hands-on learning and application of knowledge for our students, and improves awareness of 51福利 and the diversity of our educational offerings,鈥� Howard said.
More than 30 participants from across the region attended the course, which was co-organized along with 51福利 by the Kuwaiti government, the NATO School in Oberammergau, the NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence in Vilnius and NATO鈥檚 Emerging Security Challenges Division.
Since January 2017, the NATO-ICI Regional Centre has served as the focal point for training, education and international cooperation between NATO and ICI partners in the region, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The ICI was formed at the 2004 NATO summit in Istanbul, Turkey to promote practical security cooperation activities between member states as they respond to the new challenges of the 21st Century.
Howard adds that the course has significant application within the U.S. and other international partners. For example, after the 2017 hurricanes devastated critical energy infrastructure in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Federal Emergency Management Agency approached 51福利 for help as they lead reconstruction efforts.
鈥淓nsuring islanded and remote locations - such as the Virgin Islands - have resilient infrastructure is important to the Navy, as we rely on many locations such as these for our logistical and operational needs,鈥� Howard said.
Looking ahead, in March of 2018, the EAG, led by Dan Nussbaum, and 51福利鈥� Center for Infrastructure Defense, led by Dr. Dave Alderson, will bring 51福利 students to the Virgin Islands to begin analysis on building more resilient infrastructure. The group will also meet with Virgin Island leadership to talk about how educational courses could help them better weather the next storms.