Fostering innovation and skill development in the EU defence sector
As a former member of the consortium of the project Alliance for strategic skills addressing emerging technologies in defence (ASSETs+), Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini is leading the European Defence Challenge (EDC) working group, and will co-host the next edition of the challenge, set to launch in September 2025.
Originally established under the ASSETs+ project to foster strategic skills in emerging defence technologies, the European Defence Challenge is an open competition designed to attract young talent to the defence industry and encourage them to pursue careers in defence-related technologies.
As part of the challenge, European students are invited to think about a current problem in the field of defence and propose a solution. The initiative recently reached its fifth edition, which concluded with an award ceremony held at the Royal Military Academy (RMA) in Brussels on 9 May 2025.
Bringing together students, defence experts, and industry leaders to celebrate innovative proposals aimed at enhancing European security, the event highlighted the growing role of emerging talent in the defence sector and underscored the importance of the European Defence Challenge in fostering innovation, collaboration, and skill development across the EU.
This year's challenge focused on Towards a Safer Tomorrow: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Landmine Clearance and Security Enhancement, encouraging students across Europe to develop creative, forward-thinking solutions to critical defence issues.
The ceremony featured keynote speeches from Col. Kurt Van Gyseghem and Geert De Cubber (RMA), Antoine Feral (Rolls-Royce), Dirk Peters (European Commission, DG DEFIS), and Liga Baltina, Head of FGB's Labour Market and Skills research Unit and former member of the ASSETs+ coordination team. Each speaker emphasised the importance of youth engagement in shaping the future of European defence.
