Join us to explore the Spain-Portugal power outage through the lens of Impact Reduction, Crisis Management, Cyber Threat, AI and Business Continuity Management.

In April 2025, an unprecedented power outage swept across the Iberian Peninsula, plunging both Spain and Portugal into widespread darkness and leading to activation of national emergency plans. What initially appeared to be a technical failure, quickly evolved into a multifaceted crisis, exposing significant vulnerabilities across infrastructure, communication systems, supply chains, and public services. 

This seminar will delve into the lessons risk managers can learn from this event – insights that will be valuable for organizations of any size. We will examine how risk management frameworks effectively address such crises, identify useful crisis response protocols, and explore business continuity strategies that can make the difference between chaos and control. We will also discuss the intersection of cyber security, AI, and the growing complexity of managing large-scale disruptions in an interconnected world.

In response to this critical incident, the lead facilitators of TU Delft’s Risk Management Summer Course, Rinske Geerlings and Prof. Sicco Santema, have designed a unique one-day in-person seminar, on TU Delft’s campus, tailored to risk professionals and anyone interested in the broader context of risk. This seminar offers an in-depth reflection on the 2025 Spain-Portugal power outage, providing insights and key takeaways that you can immediately apply in your work. 

We will address the following discussion points:  

• When the root cause is unknown (and may never be known)—be it a system glitch, cyber-attack, insider threat, or pure incompetence—how should risk managers respond?
• How do you manage risks in the context of multiple events striking at once (and/or at the worst possible time), Murphy’s Law style?
• Crisis communication: Why clear crisis communication matters more than ever when the lights (and the networks) go out.
• The potential role of AI in mitigating risks  and existing tools that could have been applied (such monitoring, anomaly detection, incident response). 
• The importance of capturing lessons learned through an after-action review (AAR).
• Practical, user-friendly strategies to re-vamp your risk controls and business continuity plans before the next lights-out moment.

Join us on September 25 for an engaging session filled with insightful discussions and networking opportunities - drinks included! This seminar is a special spin-off of the Risk Management Summer Course, a two-week on-site annual program that just celebrated its 11th edition. The next edition is planned for Monday 22nd June until Friday 3rd July 2026 on TU Delft's Campus.

Schedule:  

Please note that the number of seats for this seminar is limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.