NATO Innovation Challenge (30.5.2019)
Organized by DefSec Innovation Hub in co-operation with NATO ACT Innovation Hub, the NATO Innovation Challenge Pitch Day and Award Ceremony took place on Thursday 30 May 2019 as part of the International Defence and Security Technologies Fair (IDET) in Brno, Czech Republic.
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The 2019 NATO Innovation Challenge took place under the auspices of Major General Jaromír Zůna, First Deputy of the General Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic, and Vojtěch Petráček, Rector of the Czech Technical University in Prague.
DefSec Innovation Hub had the pleasure of organising the NATO Innovation Challenge 2019/1 event, this time with the topic of creating solutions for the prevention, mitigation of and recovery from Electromagnetic Pulse. Registrations for attendants were open until the 28th of April, and the pitch day and award ceremony took place on the 30th of May in Brno, the Czech Republic.
Seven finalists took part in the pitch day and presented their solutions addressing the dangers of electromagnetic pulse either in person or over teleconference before a committee comprised of both military and industry experts. And as the winners of this innovation challenge, the committee selected the US company Electronics Service (ES) Ltd. More information about the attendants of the pitch day can be found at the official NATO ACT Innovation Hub website and the NATO ACT IH Facebook page.
Following the pitch and winner announcement, the event was concluded with an award ceremony held in co-operation with the Czech Armed Forces at their show booth at the IDET fair and the proverbial reigns for the organisation of the next innovation challenge were given over to Hungary’s col. Csaba Szarka. Good luck!
The DefSec Innovation Hub was proud to continue in its ambitious plans set out for 2019 with this successful event and a is looking forward to a number of other events planned out for the rest of 2019, including a set of innovation workshops.
Event partners:
Response to Hybrid Threats: Multi-Sector Collaboration (30.11.2018)
organized by the Committee of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic in cooperation with the DefSec Innovation Hub, the Czech Technical University in Prague and under the auspices of the Embassy of the United States of America in the Czech Republic
On November 30th, 2018 the DefSec Innovation Hub had the esteemed pleasure of successfully organizing a conference titled “Response to Hybrid Threats: Multi-Sector Collaboration.” The event took place in the Senate halls of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. The conference was made possible thanks to the cooperation with the Technology Transfer Office of the Czech Academy of Sciences, our key partners the Czech Technical University in Prague, NATO ACT Innovation Hub in Norfolk, VA, the Embassy of the United States, the British Embassy in Prague and our sponsors.
DefSec Innovation Hub was honored to have the former Chairman of the NATO Military Committee General Petr Pavel as a keynote speaker. General Pavel spoke about the history of defense and security and how technology influenced it. He stressed the necessity of innovation and additional research in the field to be able to aptly answer any defense and security threat, which the future might present. The Defense and Security and Innovation Hub was proud to organize a small farewell ceremony for General Petr Pavel, gifted him with a “golden parachute” and wished him much success in his future ventures.
DefSec Innovation Hub was also proud to host a whole list of esteemed speakers and guests such as Pavel Fischer, Chair of the Committee of Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Assistant Professor Vojtech Petracek Rector of the Czech Technical University, Greg Matthews Vice President of Norwich University or Jonathan Darby UK Government’s Head for Cyber Security Growth and Innovation.
The conference as such was divided into three discussion panels, which presented hybrid threats from various points of view; the topics discussed included: defense and security threat development from a historical perspective, threats to cyberspace, or innovation as presented by the defense industry. The conference successfully combined practical and theoretical aspects delivered by academics with inputs from users and producers.
The event accomplished its primary objectives in that it generated concrete projects and collaborative activities. One such example is cooperation between BAE Systems and the Czech Technical University who signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which will lead to a study conducted by the CTU and will focus on AI and armored fighting vehicles.
In conclusion, the DefSec Innovation Hub President Dr. Kristina Soukupova noted that the organization had very ambitious plans for 2019 and that ‘it will continue to serve as a platform for communication among all legitimate defense and security stakeholders’.
