Medicine Meets Geopolitics: Threats and Opportunities from Emerging Biotechnologies

How does war and global competition affect medical research and practice? Can research be misused for disinformation or even weaponized? How is the field of medicine affected by current, intensified planning of military and civil defense? The course will give you an interdisciplinary understanding of the interplay between security policy and medical science.
Duration : One semester (20 Jan 2025 - 8 Jun 2025)

Course content

Interdisciplinary understanding of security policy and medical science
The course will give you an interdisciplinary understanding of the interplay between security policy and medical science, particularly in the light of contemporary challenges, such as the Covid pandemic and conflicts in Europe where healthcare has become a target for disinformation and direct attacks.
How to deal with data protection, innovation and dual use technologies
You will explore how the changed international security landscape influences medical research with a focus on data protection, innovation, and the risks of dual use technologies, in other words technologies that can be employed for both civilian and military purposes.

After the course

On completion of the course, you will be able to reflect on ethical dilemmas that arise in healthcare and medical research during an inter-state or intra-state conflict. This can be useful to those pursuing or planning to pursue a career in research leadership, biomedical technology, bioinformatics, civil defense, defense-related medicine, international/humanitarian law, intelligence studies, and research security.

More information

The course will be part time, distance learning with lectures in the afternoons. Read the syllabus here.

Entry requirements

In order to be accepeted to the course you must have a Bachelors degree including an independent project of at least 15 credit. You must also currently be enrolled as a student/PhD student at one of the EUGLOH partners.