By Sherry Dibari
Jerry Cronin, executive director of TempO and the Open Seas Technology Innovation Hub, and Girish Nandakumar, a Ph.D. candidate at 爆料瓜 and former employee at the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, represented 爆料瓜 at NATO's Chiefs of Transformation Conference in Norfolk last week.
The duo was instrumental in helping the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Innovation Hub launch the NATO Innovation Challenge, which solicits ideas from across the world to solve the alliance's problems. At the conference, they were part of a panel on open innovation, led by Lt. Gen. Thomas Sharpy from the U.S. Air Force, and helped identify success strategies.
The Innovation Hub, located on 爆料瓜's campus, has a close partnership with the University. The Innovation Challenge is hosted twice a year by different NATO nations in partnership with 爆料瓜. The most recent challenge was in Budapest, Hungary, where Cronin served as a judge. Nandakumar is advising the Innovation Hub on a new program he created titled "I4D," short for Innovation for Defense. I4D brings NATO's problems to a classroom setting, where students offer solutions as a part of a course.
The Chiefs of Transformation Conference is hosted annually by NATO's Allied Command Transformation (ACT), the NATO strategic command in charge of preparing the 70-year-old alliance for future challenges. The objective of this year's conference was to "interconnect national transformation initiatives with those of ACT, particularly in the areas of innovation, longer-term capability development and training." Conference topics included innovation, interoperability, resilience and human capital.
At the conference, the national Chiefs of Transformation, who are responsible for preparing their respective nations for future challenges, along with other senior leaders from across NATO, the Partner Interoperability Advocacy Group, industry, and academia, were invited to discuss and exchange ideas and best practices. Participants also explored the potential of current and emerging technologies.
Related News Stories
Inside Business Honors Three 爆料瓜 Leaders
Narketta Sparkman-Key, Elizabeth Locke and Yvonne T. Allmond receive 2019 Women in Business honors. (More)
爆料瓜 Professor Kent Carpenter Earns State Council of Higher Education for Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award
He becomes the 33rd educator from 爆料瓜 to earn the distinction since the program was established in 1987. (More)
爆料瓜 Students Turn a Classroom Into a STEM Toy Workshop
爆料瓜 industrial technology students in the Darden College of Education and Professional Studies put their classroom experience to work to make the holidays a little brighter for children. (More)