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’.
