Cooperation between Széchenyi University and defence regulation researchers intensifies
Several researchers and lecturers from the Deák Ferenc Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of Széchenyi István University are involved in projects that examine regulatory issues in the field of defence and security. This field is becoming increasingly important as digitalisation advances.
The world events of recent years and the negative changes in the security environment have reassessed the role of security issues in scientific research. These researches concern a wide range of different disciplines, but like in many European countries, it has become clear in Hungary that besides technology and specific defence functions, the structure and regulation of the country's defence system is a key issue in the 21st century. This is particularly true in those areas which, because of their technological innovation and dynamic development, play a key role in the information age. Cyberspace and related issues can certainly be considered as such.
The importance of this area, which has already been linked to concrete experiences of the Russian-Ukrainian war, can be seen in the ranks of foreign states, in the specialised bodies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and at the level of the European Union. It is therefore clear that defence researchers, as well as defence studies more broadly, are responding to these issues. Researchers of the Széchenyi István University are also involved in some of these research projects on the regulatory dimensions, and in 2020 the university hosted a conference on digitalisation, which was attended by military experts and researchers, as well as representatives of the education and telecommunications sectors.
Dr. Roland Kelemen, assistant professor at the Ferenc Deák Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, as a result of his earlier research on special legal order, has become part of the research group of the TKP2021-NVA-16 tender at the National University of Public Service (NKE). The research group led by Brigadier General Dr. Pál Kádár, Director General of the Defence Administration Office, with the support of the Department of Defence Law and Administration of the Faculty of Defence Sciences and Officer Training of the National University of Public Services, is investigating the broad regulatory, state-organizational and social dimensions of the ongoing defence-security regulatory reform. In recent years, the Brigadier General has also given lectures to students at the Deák Ferenc Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of the Széchenyi István University, providing an insight into the main stages of the reform process.
The colleagues of the Győr Faculty of Law - Associate Professor Dr. Judit Glavanits, Dean Prof. Dr. Péter Smuk, Associate Professor Dr. Róbert Bartkó and Dr. Roland Kelemen - were also invited to participate in the research project TKP2021-NVA-24 of the Military National Security Service. The latter research aims to analyse the regulatory and societal aspects of the application of artificial intelligence and cyberspace for military and national security purposes, in which the leader of the research - a former student and lecturer of the university - Major Dr. Ádám Farkas considers cooperation between institutions and between the civil and defence sectors to be of paramount importance, providing a theoretical basis for practical decision-making and development.
The changing security environment and the impact of technological developments on security show that this type of cooperation can provide a good basis for the future, strengthening the links between civilian higher education and the defence sector.