The ASSETs+ European Defence Challenge (EDC) is a competition open to undergraduate and graduate students from all over Europe on Defence emerging technologies and skills with the aim of increasing awareness on Defence issues among young generation, to reinforce the EU identity and to engage students in active learning experiences.

442 students from 24 different countries and 116 different institutions have already participated in the three previous editions of the Challenge.

In this edition, titled “Leading through Complexity: Effective Management in Defence Environment”, we aim at exploring the use of management methods in Defence sector as key to navigate complexity in the defence project and achieve mission success.

Participants are invited to write a proposal that will address strategies and approaches to deal with complexity and uncertainty in projects or operations related to Defence Industry, focusing on the following operative areas:

• Technology Management
• Data Management
• Decision-Making Process
• Risk Management
• Quality Management
• Cost Management
• Battlefield Management
• Dual-Use Management

In the proposal, a new method, strategy or approach, a new combination of existing ones, a new use of an existing ones, or a proposed research line, can be presented. Also, ideas about how to best exploit existing methods, strategies or approaches are welcome. Students in the proposal will address not only the technological aspect, but also the economic, political, regulatory, ethical and/or social implications . The operative contexts addressed in the proposal can be the defence dimensions: land, sea, air, space and cyberspace. Students are strongly encouraged to team up in pairs, finding a partner in a different country or institution.

The EDC is structured in two phases. In the first phase participants will develop a one-page proposal on their idea. The deadline for submission of one-page proposals is May 31, 2023. If the proposal is selected for the second phase, the participants will be asked to expand and develop their idea to 10 pages proposal (5000-6000 words) and submit it before midnight CET October 31, 2023.

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The ASSETs+ project

The Alliance for Strategic Skills addressing Emerging Technologies in Defence (ASSETs+) is a four year Erasmus+ project, built on close collaboration between Defence Industry, Sectoral Organisations, Higher Education Institutions, Vocational Educational & Training providers and Research Centres, with 30 partners from 8 countries and a broader ecosystem of stakeholders.

ASSETs+ aims to build a sustainable human resources supply chain for the European Defence Industry, that boosts innovation by both attracting highly-skilled young workers and upskilling its employees. Complementary education & training programmes are addressing the following main technologies: Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, C4ISTAR and Cybersecurity.