The second In-Region Workshop of the Marshall Center’s 2026 program plan is a full-day workshop hosted in partnership with BWI, digitalization partner of the Bundeswehr.

The event, “From Ukraine’s Battlefield to European Defense Capabilities: Innovation, Adaptation, and Industrial Scalability,” will focus on accelerating innovation cycles in the European Defense Industrial Base (DIB) by drawing lessons from Ukraine and ongoing cooperation between government, armed forces, and industry.

The workshop, hosted in Munich, an innovation and start-up hub, facilitates direct engagement with emerging innovators, industry partners, and technologies critical to advancing the defense industrial base.

BWI GmbH
Dachauerstraße 128, 80637 Munich, Germany

0900–0930 | Welcome Coffee
0930–1000 | Opening Remarks

Speakers:

• Barre Seguin, Marshall Center director
• Julian Klein, head of the Solution Operations Unit, BWI GmbH
• Yurii Nykytiuk, consul general of Ukraine in Munich (online)
• German Col. Matthias Puschnig, industrial innovation expert, German Ministry of Defense Special Staff for Ukraine FMoD (online)

1000–1100 | Keynote Address

Moderator: Fritz Rademacher, Marshall Center professor.

Speaker: German Lt. Gen. André Denk, European Defence Agency chief executive (online).

1100–1115 | Coffee Break

1115–1230 | Panel 1: Battlefield Innovation and New-Generation Warfare: Lessons from Ukraine

Focus: Battlefield innovation, research and development, new-generation warfare, and strategic and operational lessons from Ukraine.

Moderator: Yevgeniya Gaber, Ph.D., Marshall Center professor.

Speakers:

• Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Centre for Defense Strategies chairman and former minister of defense of Ukraine (online)
• U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Terry Tillis, commander, 7th Army Training Command
• German Col. Matthias Puschnig, industrial innovation expert, German Ministry of Defense Special Staff for Ukraine FMoD (online)
• Matthias Lehna, managing director, Quantum Systems and Quantum Frontline Industries (online)
• Arne Nolte, head of strategic programs and Ukraine, Diehl Defence

1230–1330 | Hosted Working Lunch

Focus: Introduction to the Marshall Center’s thematic research clusters and in-resident programs.

Speaker: Tim Dreifke, Ed.D., Marshall Center college dean.

1330–1430 | Panel 2: From Innovation to Capability: Procurement Reform, Industrial Scaling, and Defense Transformation

Focus: Cutting red tape, reforming procurement systems, adapting legal frameworks, and translating wartime innovation into scalable defense capabilities.

Moderator: Monika Wohlfeld, Marshall Center professor.

Speakers:

• Taras Doroniuk, deputy head of the Defense Reform Support Office, Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (online)
• Polish Armed Forces Brig. Gen. Kazimierz Dynski, Marshall Center military professor
• German Col. Norbert Vetter, head of digitalization support for cyber reserve, Center for Digitalization of the Bundeswehr and Capability Development for Cyber and Information Space
• Benjamin Tallis, head of thought leadership, Helsing (online)

1430–1515 | BWI Presentation and Discussion

"Digital Transformation of Defense: Wargaming and Implementing Lessons from Ukraine."

Focus: Digitalization of the Bundeswehr, use of wargaming and modeling to integrate operational lessons from Ukraine, and translating battlefield insights into doctrine, training, and capability development.

Speakers:

• Claus Hirschmann, customer solution land/sea and lead expert for business integration, BWI GmbH
• Jonas Thiessen, digital defense consulting and head of wargaming section, BWI GmbH (online)

1515–1530 | Coffee Break
1530–1630 | Breakout Group Sessions

Participants will divide into working groups to develop policy recommendations and actionable outcomes in the following areas:

• Defense innovation ecosystems (May-Britt Stumbaum and Lt. Col. Tadele Zeißig)
• Procurement and acquisition reform (Lt. Col. Courtney Clarksen and Col. Norbert Vetter)
• AI, emerging and disruptive technologies (Sae Schatz and Maximilian Enders)
• NATO-EU-Ukraine defense cooperation (Cüneyt Gürer and Fritz Rademacher)

1630–1700 | Working Group Debrief and Closing Session

• Presentation of key recommendations from breakout groups
• Wrap-up discussion

Closing Remarks
Speaker: Kay Brinkmann, Marshall Center German deputy director