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Regional sessions

A 4-week training course with national content adapted to each region

The Institute for Higher National Defence Studies (IHEDN) is a centre for training, reflection and high-level debate on issues of military defence, national defence, national security and international security, open to the world and anchored in the European area.

Strengthening its presence in the regions while maintaining its position at a high level of strategic thinking, the Institute trains the nation's executives. To achieve this, it organises regional sessions six times a year, including one overseas, to bring together students from a wide range of sectors, military and civilian, public and private, all driven by a shared desire to understand each other and act together.

The course aims to analyse the interplay between the players involved in developing and implementing defence and security policies. It enhances the ability to perceive, identify and take into account emerging threats and risks, while taking into account local and regional realities. It enables students to share experiences, cross points of view and decompartmentalise knowledge.

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Objectives and interests

Session objectives

Contribute the development of strategic thinking ;
Train to the complexity of the contemporary world, to the challenges of defence and national security, foreign policy, armaments and defence economics;
StrengthenIn a culturally diverse environment, the ability to analyse and make decisions;
PromoteThe exchange of expertise and knowledge between civilians and military personnel in a given area;
Develop a platform for European reflection on cross-disciplinary issues.

Session interests

Risks and threats, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, the Covid-19 pandemic, cyber-attacks and the war in Eastern Europe all bear witness to the fact that the world has become increasingly vulnerable to the threat of terrorism. diversity of safety issues These include military, economic, social, cultural, environmental and health issues.

These events, which have an impact at national, European and international level, also have an impact on repercussions in the regions and justify the need for managers in all sectors of activity to be trained in the issues defence and security.

Organisation

Regional sessions take place over 4 weeks, from Tuesday to Friday, with a one-week break between the 2^e week and the 3^e week. The 2^e week is spent in a boarding school.

They represent a total of 16 days of training, or around 112 hours.

They are organised in 4 different areas of the region concerned, from 4 different towns. The aim is to ensure that the training is firmly rooted in the diversity of the region and that it is as close as possible to the environments of the students on the one hand, and the civil and military authorities on the other.

There is a session in each region every two and a half years. Sessions are also organised in the French overseas territories, at the rate of one destination per year.

In the DROM (overseas departments and regions) and COM (overseas communities), the format of the regional session can be adjusted.

pedagogical format

"understanding in order to act, understanding each other in order to act together".

The educational triptych :

The teaching methods used at the regional sessions are based on a triptych the link between theory and practice, while respecting the principles of the Chatham house rule :

Lecture-debates providing elements for analysis, discussion and understanding of the subjects covered;
Committee workThe aim is to develop collegial thinking. With this in mind, the regional sessions offer all listeners an opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences. common method for developing a strategy aimed at developing their decision-making skills;
Field visits with high added value in terms of defence and security issues, enabling us to base our thinking on practical experience.

The 4 modules of the regional sessions:

Regional sessions are divided into modules (one per week) to provide a comprehensive understanding of defence and security issues.

Module 1

Module 2

Module 3

Module 4

Module 1

Module 2

Module 3

Module 4

becoming an auditor

► Target group

The session brings together a maximum of 50 auditors of French nationality aged at least 30 and generally under 55:

Category A/A+ civil servants and public employees in the 3 civil services (State, regional and hospital);
senior officers ;
senior executives in the public and private sectors;
elected representatives ;
lawyers, consultants and entrepreneurs ;
academics ;
players in research, education and training ;
journalists ;
employees in the voluntary sector ;
religious representatives.

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 at : Correspondant.Handicap@ihedn.fr

IHEDN auditor status is awarded by decision of the IHEDN Director on completion of the course.

► Number of places

Each regional session is attended by a maximum of 50 people.

► Apply

No pre-requisites are required, apart from compliance with the following conditions:

register on the website and submit an application in the required digital format before the closing date for registration set for each session;
only complete applications will be examined.

To register > go directly to the "forthcoming sessions" section

► Selection criteria

The main criteria used to select candidates are as follows:

Professional background and experience ;
A proven interest in defence and security issues;
Willingness to commit during and after the session;
The ability to interact and integrate.

► Rates and financing

Information about using the Personal Training Account (CPF) :

All regional sessions are eligible for the CPF. Each session is open on " mytrainingaccount " withinone month before the start of the course.

Auditors wishing to use their CPF are invited to prepare their account and their application, but to submit their request only once their application has been accepted and in accordance with the instructions given to them by the IHEDN.

The cost of the session is :

1600 € for the private sector;
1200 € for the public sector (including the military, elected representatives, academics, public officials, opinion leaders and journalists).

The choice of rate is declaratory (and validated by the IHEDN after examining the application).

For each session in French overseas departments and territories, the Board of Directors votes on a price adapted to the realities of these territories.

► Auditor satisfaction rate

At the end of the course, participants will be asked to complete a satisfaction questionnaire. For all regional sessions organised between September 2023 and June 2024, 100 % of auditors felt that the training met their expectations.

training assessment and skills certification

IHEDN's regional sessions prepare auditors who wish to do so for the certification of competence entitled "Mastering defence and security issues in order to formulate operational recommendations", registered with the French Ministry of Defence. Specific France Compétences directory under RS number5606.

Certification of competence is based on four assessment methods:

► 2 specific procedures for awarding IHEDN auditor status:

a collective report ;
an assessment of the knowledge acquired at the conferences, in the form of a multiple-choice questionnaire.

► 2 specific procedures for obtaining certification of competence :

an individual summary (due within 15 calendar days of the last day of the session) ;
an individual operational note (due within 15 calendar days of the last day of the session).

The four deliverables must be sent in by the deadlines and according to the procedures indicated at the beginning of the session. It will not be possible to make up or partially validate skills.

Over 2022/2023, 93.8% of the auditors who took part in the certification validated the target competency.