FLW Academic Open Day

Sabre&Quill21 – Army partnering with leading academia

The need for Army to engage with, and learn from, academia has never been greater, as evidenced by Australia’s uncertain geo-strategic landscape.

Army is an evolving, forward-looking organisation which seeks and values the contribution of academia as it continues to develop land capability.

The objective of Sabre&Quill21 is to provide a venue for senior partners in academia, research-institutes and think-tanks to learn of Army’s research initiatives and objectives from Army’s senior leaders. The Army’s Future Land Warfare Branch will appraise participants of how the Service is posturing for the future, and how research partnerships will underpin the Army’s evolution. The Australian Army maintains a long tradition of working with research partners. Since 2020, the Future Land Warfare Branch has, for Army, undertaken the following:

• The Army Research Scheme funds a number of research topics annually, each up to a value of $80,000. 
• Army’s Makerspace program has progressed beyond the pilot phase into a training package, mobile labs and workshops in creative thinking, involving Flinders and Deakin Universities and the University of South Australia.
• The Army History Unit provided $94,000 in grants to current and emerging research leaders into military history.

In tandem with Defence, our partnerships with academia have never been more important, as Army invests in new thinking and the bolstering of our intellectual capital.

Sabre&Quill21 is the first iteration of an emerging framework for the direct engagement of academia with senior Army leadership and our thought leaders.

Sabre&Quill21 is an opportunity for the Army to inform research partners of its research objectives, but to also support a free-flowing conversation and facilitate informal engagement. We hope you can participate in the event, and assist the Australian Army as it prepares for future challenges and opportunities.