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Security & Defence PLuS Partners on Inaugural Australian Digital Engineering Summit

13 December, 2023

Security & Defence PLuS (S&D+) was proud to partner on last month’s inaugural Australian Digital Engineering Summit, run by UNSW’s Capability Systems Centre. The event was full of rich conversations about delivering future capabilities and digital transformations. The Summit brought together industry, defence and national security agencies, academia, and government leaders in the digital engineering (DE) space to establish collaborations, discover the latest research, and share strategic insight to further the DE implementations in Australia.

The summit, spearheaded by UNSW Associate Professor Sondoss Elsawah, Director of the Capability Systems Centre and an S&D+ colleague, increased awareness about the critical needs for DE in Australia as a key enabler for future capabilities, while also sparking innovation by exploring current and future efforts that integrate DE practices, data, operational systems, and emerging technologies to accelerate the delivery of new defence and industry capabilities. Participants developed a shared understanding of the obstacles to implementing DE pathways and practices and what needs to be addressed to remove or resolve them.

Speakers included:

  • Dr. Joseph Bradley, Visiting Research Engineer, Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security, University of Maryland
  • Professor Rodney Stewart, School of Engineering and Built Environment, Griffith University
  • Rear Admiral Stephen Hughes, Head of Navy Capability, Royal Australian Navy
  • Commodore Anthony Klenthis, Director General Workforce Design, Vice Chief of the Defence Force Group
  • Sarah Pavillard, CEO & Founder, ADROITA
  • Dr. Nicole Hutchison, Senior Research Engineer, Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC), Stevens Institute of Technology
  • Simon Vaux, CEO & Co-Founder, DEOS Digital
  • A/Professor Ang Liu, Engineering Design, School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, UNSW Sydney
  • Charles McHardie, Chief Information and Digital Officer, Technology and Digital Programs Group, Services Australia
  • Jo Dawson, Executive Director, Engineering and Technical Function, Capability Acquisition & Sustainment Group, Australian Ministry of Defence
  • Dr. Todd Mansell, First Assistant Director General, Technical, Australian Submarine Agency
  • Kerry Lunney, Country Engineering Director & Chief Engineer, Thales Australia

Thanks to the summit’s other partners, DEWC Services and ADROITA, for helping make the event possible.

Interested in partnering with S&D+ on events? Please reach out to us via [email protected].

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