Critical infrastructures in focus: Experts discuss resilience in Munich

Critical infrastructures in focus: Experts discuss resilience in Munich

The annual colloquium of the RISK research center took place on October 7, 2025 at the campus of the University of the Bundeswehr in Munich. This year's theme, "System relevant?! Interfaces of resilience - critical infrastructure from an interdisciplinary perspective", personified the importance of critical infrastructures (KRITIS) in society. These infrastructures, which include airports, energy supplies, water management and digital networks, are crucial for the functioning of everyday life and their disruptions can have significant consequences for society, as recent incidents at Munich Airport with drone sightings make clear.

Under the leadership of Prof. Eva-Maria Kern, President of UniBw M, it became clear that interdisciplinary research can make an essential contribution to increasing the resilience of these infrastructures. Greetings from Prof. Gertrud Buchenrieder, board member of FZ RISK, set the tone for an event that brought together researchers and experts from the fields of hydraulic engineering, psychology and political science.

Interdisciplinary perspectives on CRITICISM

The colloquium offered numerous program items that promoted exchange between disciplines. A highlight was the session “Let’s RISK the Dialogue – Old, New and Exciting in RISK”, led by Prof. Timothy Williams and Prof. Christian Schaum. Innovative approaches and the challenges of critical infrastructures were highlighted.

Christian Resch, Managing Director of the Disaster Competence Network Austria, emphasized the need to focus on multiple crises such as climate change and social risks. Two rounds of impulses were dedicated to specific topics: the first dealt with the challenges surrounding "Bridges, transport & water - critical infrastructure without risks and side effects?", while the second discussed "What does a resilient society need? Think beyond critical infrastructures". Experts from engineering, transportation technology, economics and political science addressed key aspects of resilience in these areas.

Research projects and innovative approaches

As part of the colloquium, participants also had the opportunity to present current projects in “8-minute talks”. Marc Menne received special recognition for his contribution to threat analysis in the BASIS research project. The colloquium concluded with a panel discussion on the topic “Fear as a social factor – How do we make rational decisions under uncertainty?” Here, experts such as Harald Damskis, Martin Häusler, Prof. Inga Schalinski and Prof. Timothy Williams discussed the role emotions play in decision-making under uncertain conditions.

The relevance of KRITIS becomes clear again and again through the history of its disruptions. According to that Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief They are responsible for providing essential goods and services. Therefore, protecting them is a central task of state and corporate security precautions.

Research in the development organization PTV Group, for example, aims to increase the resilience of transport routes. Procedures are developed that identify and evaluate critical parts of the transport networks in order to ensure the effective protection of road users. In this context, the need for bridges and tunnels, which often function as critical infrastructure, was an important aspect. Current research projects, such as SKRIBT and SeRoN, aim to develop risk-based procedures for the economic evaluation of protective measures.

Overall, the interest in interdisciplinary approaches and new solutions shows that the challenges in the area of ​​critical infrastructures are complex and multi-layered, and the FZ RISK annual colloquium offers a platform to meet these challenges.