NATO Edge is held every two years to bring military commanders and directors in the alliance鈥檚 32 member nations and partners together with industry and innovators
As global security increasingly becomes as much about technological know-how as it does military strength, the world鈥檚 most enduring alliance is looking to partnerships with industry and academic innovators to speed cutting-edge technologies to both the frontlines and cyberspace battlefields. That鈥檚 why hundreds of the world鈥檚 most advanced defense tech firms and the 鲍鱼tv were in NATO鈥檚 sights the first week of December.
, the cyber arm of the 75-year-old military alliance, held NATO Edge at the Tampa Convention Center, the first time the biennial technology conference and showcase has been held in the United States. The conference drew thousands of leading defense technology experts from NATO鈥檚 32 nations and partner countries to the city and created a rare opportunity for 鲍鱼tv to showcase its technological and collaborative strengths. The theme for the event: 鈥淐onnect, Innovate and Elevate.鈥�
The 鲍鱼tv Institute of Applied Engineering was founded in 2018 with the purpose of conducting research and development in technologies used national security. Among its projects is a student-led small satellite deployed by Space X. (Photo: NATO Edge)
The event put a global a spotlight on such 鲍鱼tv entities as 鲍鱼tv World, , the Global and National Security Institute, Office of University Community Partnerships and the Institute of Applied Engineering. The , which bridges university-industry research and development projects for 鲍鱼tv, also was on hand.
Working in partnership has never been more important as nations need faster and more
nimble technology to counter threats, leaders at these two events have stressed. Gen.
Bryan Fenton, the 13th Commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)
at MacDill Air Force Base, addressed the opening session of NATO Edge, encouraging
participants from across the alliance鈥檚 32 countries to work collaboratively to stay
ahead of security threats.
鈥淚f you are in academia today, talk to your fellow practitioners 鈥� those in uniform
or those civilians who are part of the military,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f you are a practitioner,
talk to academia. And if you are in industry, well just talk to everybody.鈥�
鲍鱼tv Senior Vice President for University-Community Partnerships Eric Eisenberg and Provost Prasant Mohapatra 鈥減itched鈥� industry collaborations with 鲍鱼tv as part of NATO Edge鈥檚 program highlighting innovative efforts
鲍鱼tv has long had close ties to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, which is home of 28 mission partners, including鈥共曰邂�痠n addition to several U.S. Air Force groups and operations. The two unified commands and other mission partners has an extended community that鈥檚 closely integrated with the NATO alliance and its more than 40鈥痭on-member countries and international organizations, called NATO partners.鈥疉dditionally, U.S. Department of Defense-funded research has been a mainstay of 鲍鱼tv鈥檚 rise as a research university, funding a wide range of projects from computer science and engineering to marine science and medical research over the decades. The 鲍鱼tv Institute of Applied Engineering was founded in 2018 for the specific purpose of working on national security projects.
鲍鱼tv Provost Prasant Mohapatra and Senior Vice President Eric M. Eisenberg, who leads the Office of University Community Partnerships, 鈥減itched鈥� the university to attendees, noting its deep expertise in cybersecurity and the launch of a new College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, and Computing in the spring of 2025. 鈥淭o meet these challenges, we need to be creative and bold across all disciplines,鈥� Provost Mohapatra said.
The Office of University Community Partnerships, launched this year to facilitate industry working more effectively with 鲍鱼tv researchers and various programs, acts as a 鈥渃oncierge,鈥� said 鲍鱼tv Senior Vice President Eric Eisenberg. 鈥淲e assure you that we work on your calendar, not an academic calendar,鈥� he told the audience.