2027–2028 National Session
A unique session bringing together listeners from a wide range of professional backgrounds
Each year, this programme – which runs from September to June – brings together participants from a wide range of sectors, such as members of parliament and local councillors, senior civil servants, senior military officers, high-level managers from the public and private sectors, employees of the voluntary sector, religious leaders, academics, journalists, trade union officials, lawyers, consultants and entrepreneurs.
La diversity The candidates selected make an essential contribution to the richness of the national session, both in terms of their backgrounds and the diversity of the regions they represent. This session is designed to promote collective reflection on issues marked by their strong dimension interdepartmental and concerning all of the nation's sectors of activity.
The aim of the training is to provide a comprehensive and complex understanding of defence and security issues, all of which require coordinated responses and unity. actiona guarantee of their effectiveness.
Whatever the auditors' field of expertise, their skills are put to good use in a collegial discussion of strategic issues. With this in mind, the national session offers all its auditors a common method for drawing up a strategy and situational exercises designed to develop their decision-making skills.
Sharing experience, crossing points of view and decompartmentalising knowledge are a key objective of the national session. The collegial nature of the work undertaken, in the same way as the unique teaching model structuring the training provided, is a key feature of this session.
The educational triptych
A tried and tested method that combines theory and practice
The course is structured around three types of activity:
- Lecture-debates providing a basis for analysis, discussion and understanding of the issues addressed;
- Committee workThey are the guarantors of the collegiate nature of the discussions;
- Research assignmentsThese will be chosen on the basis of the issues to be addressed, so that the discussions can be backed up by practical experience.
"understanding in order to act, understanding each other in order to act together".
► Understanding for action
The national session gives auditors the opportunity to acquire an knowledge of defence and security issues, and to take ownership of the skills useful for strategic decision-making. In particular, you will learn how to :
- master the issues and problems of national and international defence and security, linked to public policies ;
- mobilise a critical, reasoned and innovative intellectual approach ;
- think strategically;
- deciding in complex situations ;
- be a driving force behind proposals in the fields of defence and security.
► Understanding each other to act together
The training provided is also a collective experienceThis will enable auditors with a wide range of backgrounds to :
- step outside their sphere of expertise to broaden their viewpoints and question their practices;
- share their knowledge and experience;
- to build a network and a community of engagement that works to further the country’s strategic interests through its capacity for action, its reach and its influence.
Skills certification
The national session of the IHEDN prepares auditors who wish to do so for the skills certification entitled "Mastering defence and security issues for strategic decision-making", registered with the French Ministry of Defence. Listed in the France Compétences register under reference number RS7698 since 17 July 2026.
Skills certification is based on four assessment methods:
- a strategic analysis paper; ;
- a collective report ;
- an individual recommendation score ;
- a logbook for a decision-making exercise.
Assignments must be submitted by the deadlines specified at the start of the academic year. No catch-up work will be permitted thereafter, nor will partial validation of the relevant competence be possible. Between June 2023 and June 2026, 95.1 per cent of candidates who sat the certification examination successfully demonstrated the relevant competence.
► Satisfaction rate
At the end of each session, participants are asked to complete an evaluation questionnaire covering all aspects of the training (pedagogical, organisational and thematic). For the 2025–2026 academic year, the response rate for this questionnaire was 96.5 %, with an average score of 5.1 out of 6 across all questions, This equates to an average satisfaction rate of 85 %.
The common core curriculum and its breakdown by major
The national session has two inseparable components:
A COMMON BASE
aimed at fostering a shared defence culture amongst auditors from a wide variety of sectors;
A MAJOR
chosen from five themes: armaments and the defence economy, economic defence and security, maritime issues and strategies, defence policy, digital sovereignty and cybersecurity.
The Common Learning Base, which runs throughout the year, is primarily aimed at enabling students to acquire knowledgeand skills and the methods needed to monitor the sessionThe aim is to ensure that we have a clear understanding of our national defence policy in each area.
In addition to the theoretical and cross-disciplinary aspects of the training, the study assignments, both in France and abroad, also contribute to the development of a solid knowledge base. common defence culture backed up by experience in the field.
These times of shared reflection between the national session auditors, as well as participating in joint activitiesThe content of the common base is based on the principles of solidarity, unity and cohesion.
the 5 major themes of the national session
National session candidates opt for at moment from registration for one of the following five majors:
- Armaments and defence economics (AED) ;
- Economic Defence and Security (DSE) ;
- Maritime issues and strategies (ESM) ;
- Defence policy (POLDEF) ;
- Digital Sovereignty & Cybersecurity (SNC).
From these five majors, candidates choose the one that best suits their needs. need for further information which enables them to develop complementary skills in the strategic management of their missions, and in the exercise of their responsibilities.
Candidates from overseas territories can enrol on the «Maritime Issues and Strategies» major, which includes adjustments to its curriculum enabling students from overseas territories to complete the entire course despite the geographical distance.
The five majors of the national session involve, in the same way as the common core of training, on the one hand a sharing of experience between auditors with varied skills, and on the other, going beyond one's initial sphere of expertise.
Each major has its own specific objectivesdetermined on the basis of expectations of the listeners it brings togetherparticularly in terms of specialisation.
In view of their interdependence, the subjects specific to each major are also marked by their transversality.
The six modules of the national session
The national session is divided into modules, each of which includes a section relating to the common foundation and a section specific to each major.
This common structuring of training helps to strengthen the unity of the national session. It also contributes to the necessary sharing of experience and cross-fertilisation of perspectives involved in defence and security issues, which are now more closely intertwined than ever.
THE STRATEGIC CONTEXT
The initial module enables auditors to understand the fundamentals of defence and
national security, understand the key aspects of the contemporary strategic environment, and address the specific issues relevant to each major.
STRATEGY: FROM CONCEPT TO PRACTICE
The aim of this module is to understand the conceptual and practical foundations of strategy, as well as to acquire the basics of a common method for developing a strategy that will be used throughout the year.
THE PLAYERS AND RESOURCES INVOLVED IN THE STRATEGY
This involves examining the organisation of the State and the respective roles of public and private players, at both national and local level. This module also leads auditors to assess the constraints on our budgetary, human and natural resources, as well as the issue of maintaining skills specific to each field studied.
Deployment of the strategy
This module focuses on the operational aspect of our strategy, whether it concerns intelligence, military operations, armaments operations, maritime operations, cyber defence or counter-interference. It is based on scenario-based exercises designed to prepare participants for decision-making in complex situations.
EXTENSION OF THE FIELDS OF CONFLICT
The strategic landscape is marked by diversification in terms of actors, forms and areas of conflict, in the digital and information spheres, and in outer space and maritime areas. This module aims to analyse contemporary changes in conflict and their implications for strategy implementation.
INTERNATIONAL CASE STUDIES
This final module aims to provide food for thought on France's position on the international stage, through an in-depth examination of certain themes relating to bilateral and multilateral relations or specific geographical areas. It draws in particular on missions abroad, the objectives of which are defined according to their relevance to each major field of study and the priorities of our diplomacy.
becoming an auditor
Target audience
Managers and future managers aged between 35 and 55 :
- parliamentarians and elected representatives ;
- senior civil servants, senior officers and academics;
- high-level officials from the public and private sectors;
- employees in the voluntary sector, journalists and religious representatives, lawyers, consultants and entrepreneurs.
Application requirements
The course is open only to candidates of French nationality.
The course is accessible to people with disabilities, subject to special assistance and within the limits of the requirements for travel (in France and abroad) and teaching activities.
The IHEDN disability correspondent can be contacted by e-mail : Correspondant.Handicap@ihedn.fr
Sign up
No pre-requisites are required, apart from compliance with the following conditions:
- register on the website www.ihedn.fr and submit an application, which must be done by 15 March 2027 ;
- only complete applications will be examined.
Selection criteria
The main criteria used to select candidates are as follows:
- career path and level of responsibility;
- the richness of personal experience;
- commitment during and after the session ;
- Motivated interest in defence and security issues and in the chosen major;
- open-mindedness and ability to integrate ;
- an appetite for collective thinking, dialogue and interaction;
- career prospects ;
- the ability to convey your ideas clearly and convincingly.
Selection procedure
Once the complete and compliant applications have been assessed, candidates may be invited to an individual remote interview with the degree programme selection panel (lasting thirty minutes, between early February and late May 2027).
Successful candidates will be appointed, on the institute’s recommendation, by order of the Prime Minister in late June/early July 2027.
Rates and financing
The national session is eligible for the personal training account (CPF).
- 23 500 € – Employees of large enterprises, medium-sized enterprises and their subsidiaries (more than 250 employees or a turnover in excess of €50 million).
- 13 900 € : Employees of SMEs, small and medium-sized industrial enterprises, micro-enterprises, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, companies in which the State is the majority shareholder, public industrial and commercial establishments (EPICs), professional bodies representing private interests, corporate foundations, NGOs, individuals participating in a career transition scheme or jobseekers.
- 6 950 € – Elected representatives, civil servants, military personnel, journalists, employees of charitable foundations, academics and staff in higher education.
- €3,525 – Trade union representatives, religious representatives, and employees of organisations entrusted with a public service remit (subject to proof).
Tuition fees are payable in full before the start of the term on 14 September 2027.
training assessment
All participants in the national session will be required to complete the following tasks:
- a committee report ;
- a strategic analysis paper; ;
- a letter of recommendation;
- a logbook for a decision-making exercise.
Auditor status will be awarded on the basis of the following criteria:
- attendance ;
- participation in committee work ;
- the submission, within the specified deadlines and in accordance with the teaching guidelines, of the four assignments listed above.
The certificate of competence will be awarded on the basis of an assessment of the criteria defined in the the skills and assessment framework submitted to France Compétences, the following works:
- the committee report ;
- the strategic analysis note; ;
- the recommendation note ;
- a logbook for a decision-making exercise.
contact
If you have any questions about the national session, please contact :
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