IAFIE Europe Annual Conference 2026 - Brunel, London

About the Conference

The International Association for Intelligence Education European Chapter are delighted to announce that our 2026 Annual Conference will take place between 8-10 September 2026, hosted by the Brunel Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies (BCISS) at Brunel University London.

This conference will be an opportunity to focus on pedagogical innovation, share best-practices, and highlight the value of practical teaching.

The conference will feature two thematic tracks:

Track 1 Theme: The Role and Value of Practical Exercises in Intelligence Education and Training

This track welcomes contributions that examine the use of practical exercises in intelligence education. This can include papers and panels that reflect on the effectiveness, design, and application of practical exercises. Proposals may also include the delivery of live, interactive exercises at the conference, offering the opportunity for attendees to experience them first-hand.

Track 2 Theme: Where is the State of the Art and Where Do We Need to Go Next?

This track invites proposals for panels and papers that showcase the latest developments in intelligence studies and explore future directions for the field. The aim is to encourage innovative, future-oriented thinking—even if the approaches have not yet been fully tested. Submissions may present tentative or preliminary research, as well as forward-looking and moderately speculative ideas about emerging challenges and opportunities.

Our Hosts

The Brunel Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies (BCISS) was the UK’s first formally constituted research centre established to study intelligence agencies and their role in government. They pride themselves on consistently producing innovative, world-class and high-impact research that has contributed as much to the professional practice of UK and allied intelligence organisations as to scholarly understanding of those organisations. Their academics bring a powerful combination of academic research on, and first-hand engagement with, the intelligence profession in both government and the private sector on both sides of the Atlantic and the English Channel, and in Asia. You can find out more here: https://www.brunel.ac.uk/research/Centres/Intelligence-and-Security-Studies

Brunel is proud to have been recognised as the UK’s most international university in the World University Rankings 2025. We applaud and support their commitment to promoting an environment where all may visit without encountering prejudice or discrimination because of gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion, belief or age. You can find out more here: https://www.brunel.ac.uk/about/administration/equality-and-diversity

Getting There

Brunel University is only 15-minutes’ drive from London Heathrow Airport (LHR), the UK’s largest, and is easily accessible by public transport. It is located in Uxbridge, an area benefiting from a range of hotels, restaurants, and other amenities. Central London is 45 minutes by train, and there are numerous local attractions, for example Windsor Castle is less than 30-minutes’ drive.

The vast majority of our conference delegates will find access to the United Kingdom to be low-friction, requiring only an Electronic Travel Authorisation. However, others may require a visa. You can find out more details here: https://www.gov.uk/eta

Join Us

We hope you agree that the IAFIE European Chapter Annual Conference in 2026 combines important topics in intelligence education with a world-class location conveniently located near world-renowned sites.

Further details and a call for papers shall be circulated in early 2026.

We look forward to meeting you in London!