MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- The sixth annual Leadership Educational Development eXperience conference, hosted by the Curtis E. Lemay Center for Doctrine Development and Education and the Air University Innovation Accelerator, was held at the Eagle Institute in Montgomery, Alabama, Oct. 30, 2024.
The talks covered a diverse range of topics from the current state and future of U.S. Air Force Wargames to how artificial intelligence will affect national security, while exploring the limits of what can be done to accelerate innovation in an era of Great Power Competition.
“The main purpose that we like to have in mind is ‘Are we empowering our Airmen?’” said DeVante Snell, AUiX chief of events and public outreach. “To empower our Airmen, they need to have diverse perspectives, information and know how they can take that information with them to their unit, and really innovate that unit.”
The conference focused on leadership, innovation and strategy, and hosted speakers U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Parker Wright, Curtis E. Lemay Center for Doctrine Development and Education commander and Air University deputy commander, Girish Sreevatsan Nandakumar, MIT Center for Collective Intelligence research scientist, Kathleen Kennedy MIT Center for Collective Intelligence executive director, John Radovan, MIT Open Learning public sector director, Mark Rajewski, Coca-Cola Company collaborative-in-chief, and Professor Neil Stott, Cambridge Judge Business School management practice professor of social innovation.
“I loved it. The conference was very insightful I had like two and a half pages of notes just from the first two briefings,” said Ethan Fury, an Air Force ROTC cadet from Detachment 10 at University of Alabama. “I would very much recommend LEDx to even incoming cadets because it’s not only about wargaming, but also about the future of the Air Force and it is great preparation for becoming an officer and thinking strategically.”
This year’s theme “Kobayashi,” inspired by the “Kobayashi Maru” scenario from Star Trek, which is a situation designed to test the character and decision making of Starfleet cadets, offered a unique opportunity for attendees to engage in strategic educational games. LEDx aimed to host a diverse group of leaders from backgrounds of military, academia, and private sector innovators who could come together and discuss innovation efforts from their unique perspectives.
“It’s not just about the information, it’s about the connections as well,” said Snell. “When you have MIT, Stanford, Auburn and Air University, all these great minds and institutions in one room, the goal is to really connect. Although they are here for information and to relay information, we like to think of ourselves as a connection hub as well.”
If you would like to attend the next event, visit the AUiX website for more information: https://auix.org/