The MSC Innovation Night is the flagship event on the eve of the start of the Munich Security Conference, which is organized jointly by the organizer of the MSC and the Cyber Innovation Hub of the Bundeswehr. It is an excellent and exclusive forum to pitch your innovation project. The MSC Innovation Series brings together top-class political decision makers with top-class actors from politics, science, the digital economy and civil society.

MSC Innovation Night
Recap MSC Innovation Night 2024
Innovation is not optional, innovation is essential if the western allies want to succeed. At our MSC Innovation Night, top-class guests discussed how this could be archived given the global political situation under the motto "Making more out of Stronger Together." Tenor of the evening: strategic partnerships are the key to success. They can provide cooperation between the private sector, the startup ecosystem and the military community while contributing to meet the current security policy challenges. In addition, because time is short, innovations have to be implemented quickly to enable NATO troops to fight and archive their mission.
In his keynote, Sven Weizenegger, CEO of Cyber Innovation Hub of the Bundeswehr, showed how this could look like: by building a strong startup ecosystem and using dual-use products. However, although speed is very important when it comes to equipping German and allied soldiers, long-term financing of products must always be taken into account, in order not to end up in the “valley of death”.
Inspector General Carsten Breuer discussed how the Bundeswehr wants to make itself war ready and how partnerships can be used as effectively as possible on the panel with General Philippe Lavigne, the Commander-in-Chief of the NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT). Breuer: “We have to become ready for war. But we can't take 10 or 20 years of development." The German Armed Forces are already closing the transformation gap, said the Inspector General – reality is forcing Germany to do so. For example, this can be shown in the fact that the Bundeswehr is purchasing significantly more off-the-shelf products.
The guests at the MSC Innovation Night were able to see tangible examples of a strong innovation ecosystem afterwards. First with a video message from the Ukrainian Minister for Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov. Minister Fedorov first explained how Ukraine managed to implement highly innovative solutions for the armed forces in a very short time and build a powerful drone army through non-bureaucratic procurement and financing of startups.
The Innovation Night was topped off with three tangible examples from the Bundeswehr's Cyber Innovation Hub, which illustrate how the war in Ukraine accelerated the German armed forces' ability to transform. This has shown how fruitful collaboration with innovative startups can be in order to make soldiers ready for war.
Our speakers
Retrospect: MSC Innovation Night 2023
The intersection between technological innovation and security has never been more dynamic. New challenges, but also opportunities, are constantly emerging, on both real and more abstract frontlines. At the MSC Innovation Night 2023, top-class guests debated the topic of “Technology Defined Defense”. Rich Lesser in particular emphasized in his keynote address that the “Defense Innovation Readiness Gab” should be close quickly in order to be able to react agilely to possible threats. You can find his remarks as well as all speeches and start-up pitches from the MSC Innovation Night 2023 in our video retrospect.
Last year's speaker
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Siemtje Möller, Parlamentarische Staatssekretärin, Bundesministerium der Verteidigung, Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Eröffnungsvortrag
Rich Lesser, Globaler Chef, Boston Consulting Group - Keynote-Vortrag zum Thema "Closing the Defense Innovation Readiness Gap"
Kersti Kaljulaid, globale Fürsprecherin des Generalsekretärs der Vereinten Nationen; ehemalige Präsidentin der Republik Estland - Vortrag zum Thema "Innovaton"
Christian Bruch, Vorsitzender des Vorstands und der Geschäftsführung, Siemens Energy - Vortrag zum Thema "Innovation"
Margaritis Schinas, Vize-Präsident für die Förderung des europäischen Lebensstils, Europäische Kommission - Vortrag zum Thema "Innovavtion"
Mykhailo Fedorov, Stellvertretender Ministerpräsident und Minister für digitale Transformation, Ukraine - Videobotschaft
Philippe Lavigne, General; Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, Nordatlantische Vertragsorganisation - Redebeitrag zum Thema "Digitalisation and Defense"
Matthew Schlueter, Geschäftsführer und Partner, Boston Consulting Group - Redebeitrag zum Thema "Digitalisation and Defense"
Michael Vetter, Generalleutnant; Abteilungsleiter Cyber- und Informationstechnik, Bundesministerium der Verteidigung, Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Redebeitrag zum Thema "Digitalisation and Defense"