Insight into the research of the Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies Munich: Event with the VHS SüdOst

10 July 2024

Under the title "Security-related research and teaching - James Bond sends his regards!", CISS Munich invited interested parties to the University of the Federal Armed Forces in cooperation with the Volkshochschule SüdOst adult education centre. The aim of the event was to present the work of the research institute, but also to engage in dialogue with interested members of the public.

Managing Director Lieutenant Colonel Holger Prüßing began by introducing the CISS Munich research institute. He introduced the four research areas of the centre – early crisis detection, security and intelligence, economic protection, wargaming and information systems. Holger Prüßing emphasised the importance of interdisciplinary cooperation at the institute, which – due to the special nature of the Bundeswehr University – also extends to cooperation with the military sector. The Master's degree programme in Intelligence and Security Studies (MISS) was also presented.

The historian Marcel Schmeer then gave a lecture on "Street fights, psycho cops, friends and helpers? Insights into the history of the police in the Federal Republic of Germany". He outlined the tense development of the police force since the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany, with detours into the period of National Socialism and the Weimar Republic. Marcel Schmeer gave the audience an informative and impressive insight into the history of the police, peppered with visual material.

At the end of the evening, Holger Prüßing and Marcel Schmeer were joined by the four heads of the research departments – Dr Vanessa Gottwick (Early Crisis Detection), Privatdozentin Dr Eva Herschinger (Security and Intelligence), Privatdozent Dr Christian Nitzl (Wargaming and Information Systems) and Dr Jürgen Harrer (Economic Protection) – to answer questions from the audience. It was a lively, well-attended discussion on the topics of the research institute and beyond.

Photo: Plank/UniBw M.