“Diversity of ideas plays a fundamental role in any aspect of life, and security is no exception.”
Santiago Sendra, Site Security Coordinator at Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica – INTECNUS, shares his thoughts on maintaining a scientific approach to security and the importance of exchanging ideas to strengthen security culture.
Why is a scientific approach to security important?
Anyone can make a mistake. It is too easy, especially in security affairs, to make assumptions and believe what you want to believe. Cognitive bias and heuristics are always at hand to push you to ignore data that conflict with what you think. As security professionals we can’t afford to take that risk. The scientific approach to security is not only a useful tool, but the only proven way to prevent mistakes. Even though security science is a fairly new discipline, I am convinced that is the gavel and the chisel that allow any practitioner to develop a greater work.
How does networking strengthen security culture?
Diversity of ideas plays a fundamental role in any aspect of life, and security is no exception. Networking allows everyone to learn from others’ experience, what challenges have they faced and how they managed them. Someone said that even though it is impossible to read every book in a big library in one lifetime, everyone can read one book and tell each other what they learned.
What was your WINS Academy elective? Why did you choose it?
My WINS Academy elective was the Nuclear Security Programme Management. As a Nuclear Security Coordinator, I have the responsibility to set the bases in order to allow the federal security forces, private security, stakeholders and general public to work together. It is never easy to reach that goal, but that elective showed me the best path to follow, combining general business with historical and social knowledge that proved to be invaluable not only to me and my team, but to the organisation.
“The scientific approach to security is not only a useful tool, but the only proven way to prevent mistakes.”
What inspired you to become a WINS Academy Ambassador?
Well, it might sound cheesy, but I always believed that you can’t love what you don’t know. I really love security science; it is more than a passion of mine, it’s a way of living, a way to see the world. The WINS Academy Ambassador Programme gives me the opportunity to share that vision, which I know will show many others that security is not a hollow concept, but is full of meaning, principles, morals and values that once learned will allow all of us to enter a better world and a more equitable society.
What advice do you have for current WINS Academy learners or those considering enrolling?
Do not think too much. Go for it! WINS had developed an incredible set of modules that enable not only security science beginners, but also practitioners and professionals, to make a qualitative jump.
Questions for the sponsoring organisation
How has your organisation benefitted from Santiago achieving Certified Nuclear Security Professional status?
Santiago achieving the Certified Nuclear Security Professional status made a qualitative improvement of our security standards possible, focusing on international levels and affording us a unique characteristic that makes Fundación INTECNUS one of a kind on a regional basis.
“A professional development programme through WINS is a ‘must have’ in order to reach international standards.”
What role does WINS certification play in your institution’s professional development programme?
For us, a professional development programme through WINS is a “must have” in order to reach international standards. As a nuclear health institution, we encourage our staff to pursue the security certification, even with those professionals of other sciences.
