The Academic Outreach Function is Allied Command Transformation’s portal to Youth, Academia and the Think Tank community.
The Strategic Management and Communications Branch is responsible for the establishment of cooperative relationships, as well as coordinating the Command’s engagements with academic institutions.
All related activities are designed to improve Allied Command Transformation’s Academic network for the mutual benefit of the Command and its partners.
Currently, Allied Command Transformation’s Academic Outreach Function is based on these pillars:
On 08 July 2024, 32 young professionals nominated by Allied Embassies in Washington DC or the George Washington University convened at the Elliott School of International Affairs for the first-ever Model NATO Summit.
The Model NATO Summit (MNS) aimed to offer selected young professionals the opportunity to experience the workings and decision-making process of NATO. Participants prepared for and participated in a dynamic simulation of NATO’s principal political decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council at Heads of State and Government level.
Representatives from Allied Command Transformation, Strategic Issues and Engagement Branch chaired the NAC session by acting as the Secretary General, Chair of the Military Committee and Assistant Secretary General.
The MNS deliverable is an agreed NATO Youth Summit Declaration tabled by the Model Heads of State and Government. The Youth Declaration assembles the work of the participants and presents the Youth stance on NATO’s way forward.
The next MNS will take place on the margins of next year’s NATO Summit in the Netherlands.
NATO Model Events (NMEs)
NATO Model Events aim to introduce university students (graduate and post-graduate) to the workings of NATO through preparation for and participation in a dynamic decision-making simulation of a North Atlantic Council session. By acting as Ambassadors, students are engaged in diplomatic discussions that resemble those at NATO. Representatives from Allied Command Transformation chair the North Atlantic Council session by acting as the Secretary General and Chair of the Military Committee.
- NATO Model Event at the University of Nebraska (Omaha)
- NATO Model Event at Virginia Military Institute
- NATO Model Event at George Washington University
- NATO Model Event at the Hertie School in Berlin
- NATO Model Event at the George Washington University
Model NATO Challenge (MNC):
As part of the annual Norfolk NATO Festival, the Model NATO Challenge is a High School scholarship competition in which top candidates are chosen to participate in a North Atlantic Council simulation, chaired by Allied Command Transformation Staff. Each selected student Ambassador represents a NATO member and is assigned a mentor – an Allied Command Transformation military officer. Based on the students’ diplomacy and judgement skills, as demonstrated in the North Atlantic Council simulation, the top three finalists are awarded scholarships.
NATO 75th Anniversary Student Challenge:
As part of NATO’s 75th anniversary, Allied Command Transformation invites students from across the Euro-Atlantic area and the Middle East and North Africa region to participate in a student challenge. The best three students will be invited to Norfolk to discuss their ideas with NATO’s senior political and military leadership at the anniversary celebrations.
For more information about the winners of the 2023 Student Challenge, please see here.
The next Allied Command Transformation Student Challenge will open in early 2025.
NATO Youth Summit 2023
NATO and the College of William & Mary organized the 2023 NATO Youth Summit; this year’s theme was “Next Generation Freedom and Security.” The 2023 NATO Youth Summit started in Belgium and continued in Washington, D.C., with online participants able to engage throughout the transatlantic conversations. The summit covered issues like resilience, disinformation, and democracy, drawing expert discussion from industry and academia, as well as public and private entities. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg responded during Questions & Answers sessions, addressing several questions focusing on topics like youth involvement and climate change. NATO hosts this annual summit to ensure that emerging leaders are able to share their views and ideas as NATO addresses ongoing and next-generational challenges.
For more information about the NATO Youth Summit, please see here.
NATO Youth Summit 2024
Immerse yourself in the dynamic energy of the 2024 NATO Youth Summit, a collaborative effort between NATO, The Aspen Institute, Aspen Institute Romania and the Swedish Defence University.
Taking place across the Atlantic in Miami, Florida (US) and Stockholm (Sweden) with watch parties around the world, this event delves deep into the most pressing global issues of interest to youths.
The summit serves as a platform to engage, build links, enhance understanding, exchange views, and explore how the transatlantic Alliance addresses current and future challenges.
Lecturing and Student Visits:
As part of Allied Command Transformation’s cooperative relationships with Academia, Allied Command Transformation Subject Matter Experts deliver lectures and mentor students at respective partner universities. Furthermore, Allied Command Transformation offers visits for student groups, which provide the opportunity to directly engage with the Command’s Staff and expand knowledge about the work and tasks of a NATO Military Command.
Research Collaboration:
Allied Command Transformation collaborates with a number of Academic Institutions to interact directly with researchers with expertise in relevant areas for the Command. This benefits the Command in fulfilling and realizing its intents and priorities.
Academic Conference 2025
The NATO Academic Conference 2025 “The Geopolitics of Technology, Social Media, and New Power Brokers”, organized by NATO Allied Command Transformation and the Center for Geopolitics of the University of Cambridge, was the nineth iteration of ACT’s Academic Conference series, and it took place at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London, from the 30th June to 01 July 2025.
The Conference highlighted that technology is now both the terrain and the instrument of global competition, as its geopolitical, societal, and corporate dimensions are deeply intertwined. For NATO, sustaining strategic advantage will require anticipating disruption, strengthening societal resilience, and forging principled partnerships with industry – all while preserving democratic integrity and the collective trust that underpins the Alliance itself.
The Compendium “The Geopolitics of Technology, Social Media, and New Power Brokers” can be downloaded here.
Academic Conference 2024
The NATO Academic Conference 2024 brought together nearly 150 academics, civilian experts, and military leaders from Allied and select partner nations.
Co-organized with the Old Dominion University, the conference served as a pivotal forum for reflecting on the implications of the constantly changing geopolitical environment. The theme for this year’s conference, “Alliances and Partnerships in a Complex and Challenging Security Environment,” underscored the importance of collaboration and cooperation in addressing global security challenges.
The conference generated new ideas regarding how to enhance NATO’s, Allies’, and partners’ ability to anticipate threats and respond to crises with greater speed, coherence, effectiveness, and precision.
The Compendium “Alliances and Partnerships in a Complex and Challenging Security Environment” can be downloaded here.
For more information about the Academic Conference 2024, please see here: Forging Future Alliances: Insights from the NATO Academic Conference 2024
Academic Conference 2023
The 2023 Academic Conference, held in Bertinoro on 8-10 November, brought together over 60 practitioners and experts to delve into the intricate relationship between space, international security, and NATO.
The significance of addressing this topic was underscored by the evolving dynamics of global security, where space has become a critical domain for military operations and strategic competition.
Please find the Conference Report “Space: Exploring NATO’s Final Frontier” here.
Previous Academic Conferences
Please find the reports from previous Academic Conferences below:
Internship Programme:
Each year, Allied Command Transformation offers a limited number of internships to current students and recent graduates. The aim of the internship program is twofold. First, it introduces the future generation to the workings of a NATO Military Command and second, it provides the organization with access to the latest theoretical and technical knowledge that the intern can apply through practical work assignments.
Please find more information on the Allied Command Transformation Internship programme here.
Young Professionals Programme (YPP):
The new NATO-wide Young Professionals Programme aims to attract and develop highly talented professionals who are interested in accelerating their careers through entry-level positions at NATO. Through this highly competitive global three-year program, the selected participants are assigned to a different NATO body each year. Those posted to Allied Command Transformation provide unique perspectives to the Command by applying superb academic knowledge, expertise and experience from other NATO entities. In return, Allied Command Transformation broadens their understanding of transformation, capability development and innovation, and is an opportunity to develop many competencies unique to working in Allied Command Transformation.
Please find more information on the Young Professionals Programme here.