Based on the 5 successful editions of the NATO Defense College’s Early Career Nuclear ​Strategists Workshop (ECNSW), the Early Career Strategy and Technology Workshop (ECS-​TWO, X2) is pleased to accept the applications for its first edition

Rome, IT

Dec 2-13 2024

Transportation, accommodation and meals: ​covered

World-leading experts and scholars.

Dealine: rolling basis, screening starts on July 31 ​2024 until August 31 2024

Who we are

ECS-TWO was founded and launched by Dr. Andrea Gilli, ​Lecturer in Strategic Studies at the University of St Andrews in ​Scotland, Senior Advisor to the Office of the Undersecretary of ​Defense in Italy and Expert Mentor of NATO DIANA (Defense ​Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic).

Earlier, Dr. Gilli served as Senior Researcher at the NATO ​Defense College in Rome, where he launched the precursor of ​ECS-TWO, ECNSW, was a post-doctoral fellow at both Harvard ​and Stanford University and a Visiting Fellow at both Johns ​Hopkins and Columbia University, worked and consulted for ​the U.S. Department of Defense, the Italian Government, ​Leonardo, the Aspen Institute, EUISS, IISS, and RUSI, among ​others.

ECS-TWO consists of a set of lectures, presentations and ​wargames delivered and organized by world-leading scholars ​and experts coming from multiple countries.

Where does ECS-TWO come from

PAST

PRESENT

FUTURE

ECS-TWO (X2) builds upon the ​success of a previous initiative: ​ECNSW (Early-Career Nuclear ​Strategists Workshop), which was ​initiated in 2018 by Dr. Andrea Gilli at ​the NATO Defense College in Rome ​and run for five successful editions ​until 2023.

ECS-TWO broadens the focus of ​ECNSW beyond nuclear issues to look ​more widely also into strategy, ​technology and organizational issues; ​it shares with ECNSW the same ​commitment to the highest ​standards, the goal of fostering the ​next-generation of strategic thinkers ​and, for this reason, aims to involve in ​its activities world-leading scholars ​and experts.

The goal of ECS-TWO is to provide ​rigorous, policy-relevant and up-to-​date knowledge to current and future ​analysts, leaders, and strategists and ​hence to contribute to the ​development of next-generation ​talent in the broader field of strategy, ​technology and organization.

The 2024 ECSTWO will bring world-leading ​scholars and experts and will focus on the ​following topics, among others:

Strategy and Technology

Innovation

Airpower

Seapower

Modern Military Operations and Force Structures

Persistent Long-Range Strike

Power Projection

Defense Policy and Planning

Participants are expected to

Actively participate to all in-person sessions. As of now, remote participation is not ​contemplated

Submit a 300-to-500 word-long abstract along with the application

Improve the 500 word-long abstract and turn it into a 1000/1500-word brief by the beginning of ​the workshop (December 1 2024)

Submit a 2000/2500 word-long draft within two months from the

end of the workshop (February 15 2025).

Application & ​information

Place: Rome, IT

Date: Monday 2 December -- Friday 13 December 2024

Participation: all participation costs will be covered (transportation, ​accommodation and meals)

Eligibility:

• NATO or EU nationality;
  
• candidates must possess at least a MA degree in any discipline and ​two years of significant work experience or (at least) be enrolled in ​a PhD program. Recent PhDs, current post-docs or junior faculty ​also qualify.
  

Application: in order to apply, interested candidates must send an ​email with a single NAME_LASTNAME.pdf file including:

• a one-page cv (no exception);
  
• GRE/GMAT scores (if available);
  
• a 300 word motivation letter describing the reasons for applying ​and the 3 scholars/5 scholars exerting the highest intellectual ​influence upon the candidate;
  
• a 300-to-500 word-long abstract about a long-term competitive ​challenge to be investigated.
  

Deadline: rolling basis, screening will start from July 31 but applications ​are accepted until August 30.

In 2018, Andrea Gilli joined the Rome-based NATO Defense College as Senior ​Researcher.

Motivated to modernize the field of security studies in Europe, he single-handedly ​launched the Early-Career Nuclear Strategists Workshop in cooperation with NATO HQ's ​Nuclear Policy Directorate.

The workshop aimed to promote understanding and knowledge of nuclear issues among ​students, researchers and officers, foster research and generate new thinking.

For this reason, the workshop not only included lectures and presentation of research ​but also included a wargame. To put it in perspective, NATO Wargaming Initiative would ​be launched only in 2022, or four years later.

The workshop was hosted, organized and funded by the NATO Defense College for its ​five edition (2019-2023) and saw the participation of the most important scholars in the ​world in the nuclear field, promising young researchers and the highest officials within ​NATO, including a Deputy Secretary General of NATO (Rose Goettemeller), two Assistant ​Secretary Generals of NATO (Camille Grand and Angus Lapsley) and one Supreme Allied ​Commander Transformation (Gen. Philippe Lavigne), among others.

Contact us

ecs [dot] two [dot] x2 [at] gmail [dot] com