Contemporary Defence education takes place within series of global scale disruptions, that are fundamentally altering our understanding of key conceptual frameworks that help us break down and analyze scenarios while providing adequate contingencies for militaries across the globe. It is prudent in this meeting of the Heads of Defence education institutions to deliberate and share their experiences on ways and means of addressing responses that are evolved by militaries or defense research that points to dealing with such disruptions. With revolutionary developments in AI, Autonomous Weapons systems, and network centric combat, related technologies and component supply chain itself has become the focus of new research and collaborations. The critical technology eco systems keep transforming at unprecedented pace hence sharing of knowledge experiences and approaches to such studies in Defence education is a key objective from this year’s forum. Critical technologies today are sites of great competitions and rivalries it is important to maintain effective levels of Defence diplomacy as a key enabler and guarantor of peace and stability amidst the turbulence.

Rising sea levels, melting polar caps, diminishing water resources, warming world have been the key drivers of policy concerns in the last few decades. Today’s defence education cannot ignore the implications on national security and stability of States to preservations of governance at a global scale. With UN led, efforts of regional institution to combat and mitigate the effects of such climatic events, it is observed that climate induced conflicts have shaped the modern world directly and indirectly. It is deemed in a gathering of nations representing an array of geographic denominators of power from regional, middle powers, Island States to small island States, their respective experiences in responding and mitigating to implications of such climatic events will generate a healthy dialogue of perspectives and shared values and norms that can be evolved leading to security and stability efforts.

The first two themes focus on the key engines of transformation that force transition in every aspect of the strategic spheres of statecraft and defence. The third subtheme focuses on the implication of the energy that fuels the processes and how energy itself is perceived in this context of its strategic form. Energy security remains at the heart of any effort to achieve stability and prosperity of a nation and any incomplete measures leave room for conflict and chaos. Thus, the benefits of the disruptions of technologies can be achieved fully by minimizing the compromise which is the climatic changes and its adversity by transitioning to energy resources that does not accelerate the degradation. Defence sector will be forced to undergo drastic changes with the energy hungry nature of global defence mechanisms. Deliberations among the Heads of Defence education institutions will provide a wealth of knowledge, insights of ways and means of embracing energy transition in the defence sector and the contribution such efforts make on a stable, secure and sustainable world.