Why universities are the answer to our defence problems

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The world is facing uncertain times. The Peace Research Institute Oslo recorded 65 state-based conflicts in 2025, the highest number since the end of World War Two. Should we be concerned by this? Well, if you look at most stories across the media at the moment, you would be forgiven for thinking that the threat is too high to beat, even with Labour’s budget last week, we are still yet to reach the required defence investment.

So, what should we do to catch up and win Cold War Two? Of course, investing in our armed forces is key and we must reach our NATO target of 3.5% as well as our extra 1.5% commitment on defence related spending, particularly in research and home resilience. Money is not the only way that a country can strengthen its defences; research and education are overlooked by the wider press though is just as important to the Ministry of Defence’s decision making. This is why it may well be time to turn to universities to answer our defence problems.

Exeter University does not hide its commitment to defence. Indeed, its website has pages of information on its commitments. In June 2026 the university announced an investment of £6.5 million from the Office for Students Defence Related Skills Funding Competition. This was part of a wider investment of £80 million in 24 universities and colleges. The money will create almost 700 additional student places, and fund new specialist labs. These specialist labs will be essential in the building of sensors and internet-of-things, and a 3D manufacturing lab. This has the natural effect of building relationships with future employers too, another added benefit considering today’s graduate market.

Vice-Chancellor Prof Lisa Roberts said that “it will help equip the next generation of graduates with the advanced technical, analytical and problem-solving skills needed to succeed in some of the UK’s most strategically important sectors.” The move has also been praised by Steve Race, Member of Parliament for Exeter who said, “the defence sector doesn’t just keep British people safe, it also drives growth and unlocks opportunities for young people to learn skills and pursue a brilliant career.”

If universities don’t train professionals, a bigger government budget just buys equipment that too few people can build, run or defend.

In July 2026, Exeter was named one of 35 founding members of the Defence Universities Alliance, chosen from almost 100 applicants, which links universities with the MoD and the armed forces. It sits within a wider £182 million defence skills package that aims to steer graduates into cyber security, robotics, AI, aerospace engineering and advanced manufacturing, building on the 272,000 industry jobs MoD spending already supports. Membership comes with strings: the alliance charter commits universities to actively growing defence and national security research.

As already alluded to, money is key when it comes to defence, but it is useless without the necessary intellectual skills. For me, the number that matters isn’t the £6.4 million. It’s the almost 700 people it will put through the door. Defence isn’t only soldiers, ships, and planes. It’s the engineer who builds a lighter material, the developer who hardens a network, the analyst who makes sense of data in a crisis. Those people are in lecture halls today. If universities don’t train professionals, a bigger government budget just buys equipment that too few people can build, run or defend.

You do not need to look far to see that the threat from non-traditional warfare may overtake the threat posed by traditional warfare. On the 21st of October, Exeter announced in a university wide email that it was taking precautionary measures to protect its systems and data after a vulnerability in PHP software was identified. The vulnerability led to governments stopping services worldwide and tech giant Amazon reported attempts to exploit its systems. More worryingly, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) took their websites offline as a precaution. This demonstrates that without the necessary investment into education into cyber security, our adversaries could access important government sites and leak or adjust economically sensitive documents which would have a devastating impact.

It is current students who will be at the forefront of the fight to protect our cyber security, so Exeter’s commitment to investing in technology labs is crucial. More recently, on the 29th of October, US$6.3 billion in digital assets was stolen from Binance, allegedly by DPRK hackers. The losses saw a 5% fall in the value of crypto, but fortunately Binance were able to recover 90% of stolen assets. This further demonstrates the impact digital financial crime can have and strengthens the argument that universities must focus on their cyber education.

You do not need to look far to see that the threat from non-traditional warfare may overtake the threat posed by traditional warfare.

However, not all defence related partnerships formed by the University of Exeter have gone down well with everyone. In August 2026, it was reported by the Guardian that Exeter formed a partnership with Saudi Arabia to train military officers and government officials, Exeter academics will deliver a MA in applied security and strategy to select students in Riyadh. According to the university this is nothing new. In a comment to the Guardian, it states that the MA has been “taught at Exeter since 2012 through our strategy and security institute. It’s students include serving British military personnel sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and Chevening scholars supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office”.

At the time of writing it is unclear what the University will receive from the Saudi government in return. The Exeter branch of the University and College Union has criticised the move with a spokesperson saying; “We are horrified but hardly surprised to learn that management at Exeter are more interested in flogging military training to despotic regimes than in defending world-class humanities and social sciences teaching.” The move comes at a time when faculty have announced action short of a strike over workload disputes and ongoing worries over staffing cuts.

But what does the deal bring to UK defence? The deal covers about 20 students a year over three years, not loads but at least a scalable number. Saudi Arabia is a long-standing UK ally, and in October the MoD announced Typhoons will fly defensive missions over Saudi cities, backed by an A400M and advisers working with Saudi staff officers. Officers who have studied British approaches to strategy should be easier to plan and operate alongside. It won’t make a difference overnight, but over years it could. Hopefully the increase in cooperation will eventually have an effect on oil prices, since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz Saudi Arabia has diverted its oil exports to the Red Sea where the Houthis operate. Saudi oil tankers have been hit and the Houthis have declared UK and US tankers as legitimate targets, an increasing fear for a government that is currently hyper focused on the cost-of-living crisis.

Therefore, education on our world leading military strategy could be key to cooperation that will reduce the risk for oil tankers in the middle east. Human rights issues in Saudi Arabia are worrying, so whilst the investment may contribute to keeping us safe at home, it is important that the university is open about its involvement in the country. The skills now needed are technological and rooted in deep research, and universities are uniquely placed to provide both at scale.