16th Annual Senior Officers Seminar (ASOS) - Innovation within Armed Forces - 2025

The acceleration of technological developments and heightened geopolitical tensions put defence innovation at the heart of 21st-century strategic competition. Thus, ASOS 25 will gather experts and decision-makers in the field of defence innovation to address challenges and share best practices jointly.

The Symposium, organised by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy and Stanford University’s Program on Geopolitics, Technology, and Governance, in collaboration with the Swiss Armed Forces, specifically aims to improve states’ understanding of how to overcome barriers to innovation. The 2.5 days event will consist of presentations and roundtable discussions among peers.

Learning objectives

ASOS 25 will address issues related to:

• Global trends regarding emerging technologies and defence innovation;
• New developments regarding states’ defence innovation models and processes;
• Political and legal factors that drive or hinder national defence innovation ecosystems;
• Challenges and opportunities regarding international cooperation on innovation.

The Symposium will bring together military officers with ranks ranging from Brigadier General to Lieutenant Colonel (OF-6 to OF-4) and their civilian counterparts who are responsible for defence innovation, as well as leading scholars on emerging technologies and military transformation. Representatives from NATO, the European Defence Agency (EDA), the United Nations, and other institutions may also join.