At the 2018 summer evaluation Colonel Vratislav Osvald, Director JCBRND COE, declared as one of the future key challenges NATO’s request to enhance co-operation with academia. However, this mission does not pose a real challenge to the Centre, because it had already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Rome “Tor Vergata" on 10 November 2011 to establish cooperation between both entities. Within this context it went without saying that the COE supported “Tor Vergata” to conducting a CBRN Workshop at the ABU DHABI Police General Headquarters (GHQ) on 27 and 28 June 2018. Objective of the CBRN Workshop was to provide research knowledge on CBRN protection, prevention and management of hazardous material as well as lessons learned from its wide range impacts. Led by MG Maktoum Ali AL-SHERAIFI, approx. 230 participants followed Dr. Andrea MALIZIA’s presentation on “Prevention and protection of CBRN material”, Prof. Francesco D’ ERRICO’s on “Management of radiological and nuclear casualties”, and LTC ALLERT’s on “Lessons Learned from the impacts of CBRN substances”.

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In conjunction with the CBRN workshop, University of Rome “Tor Vergata” and Abu Dhabi Police GHQ signed an MoU on future cooperation. Rector Prof. Giuseppe NOVELLI, University of Rome, and MG Maktoum Ali AL-SHERAIFI, General Director of Abu Dhabi Police, signed the MoU at the Headquarters of the State Police of Abu Dhabi. Local Authorities as well as a delegation of the University of Rome, among others, Prof. Leonardo PALOMBI (Director of the CBRNe* Masters Course), Dr. Pasquale GAUDIO, Dr. Andrea MALIZIA (both are coordinators of the course), and international lecturers such as LTC Bernd ALLERT (JCBRND COE), Prof. Francesco D' ERRICO (University of Pisa and Yale University) attended the ceremony. Rector NOVELLI thanked explicitly Prof. Amer HOSAIN, Senior Scientific Adviser to the Emergency and Public Safety Directorate, who made it possible to formalize this memorandum. “Today's signature paves the way for future collaborations also in terms of health, control of non-communicable diseases and forensic genetics ".

Following the ceremony, the Rector handed over the Master diplomas to the first group of five Abu Dhabi police officers who successfully graduated from the previous year’s studies. “Tor Vergata” is one of the few universities, if not the only one, offering master studies on CBRNe Defence.

As it turned out, the Abu Dhabi Police GHQ is likewise interested to establishing contacts to the JCBRND COE.

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Text: LtCol Bernd ALLERT, DEU A

Photo: ABU DHABI Police GHQ

*CBRNe is not a NATO agreed term.