International Military Leadership Academy Erasmus Project

Project Title

International Military Leadership Academy

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation; Quality Assurance

Project Summary

According to the current political and economic situation, the understanding of common security and defence problems seems to be one of the strategic goals in education of future officers in the UE. The process of implementation of modern security policies always takes place in national as well as international environment in relation to current threats, risks and chances. Therefore safety problems need to be analysed and proceeded in the global context of international relation, close cooperation and competition.
The experiences, based on modern safety challenges, clearly point out the need to change traditional leaders to ‘commander-leaders’, who have the ability to actively adjust to a situation and create own ideas and aspirations towards the surrounding reality to achieve strategic goals with simultaneous decrease of human losses.
The need for education of “commander-leader” and not only ‘leaders’ is currently more and more present in modern armies. In many armies, the term ‘leader’ instead of ‘commander’ is being used in relation to junior members of staff.
In the Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy for the European Union five priorities of foreign policy of United European have been determined: Security and Defence, Building Resilience and taking an Integrated Approach to conflicts and crises, addressing the Internal/External Nexus, updating existing strategies and preparing news ones, and enhancing Public Diplomacy. Accordingly, for armed forces to fit into new strategy and to achieve desired goal, it is necessary to implement new thematic training for future military leaders in line with EU security priorities. The knowledge and skills of personnel in modern hierarchical organization, oriented on development and success, needs to be looked upon from the perspective of tasks, that it might have to be fulfilled now or in the nearby future. They need to be considered in terms of environment and today’s and upcoming threats as well as concepts of activities conducted by military in the national and international system. The knowledge of modern commander-leader must have a broad, interdisciplinary character, reaching beyond the training course. Today, the professionalism cannot be limited only to combat. Modern leader should be an actual commander of his subordinates. Therefore, the authority and leadership competences are necessary and should be based on consolidation of his acquired knowledge and skills acquired and developed during his duty and perfected during international courses and trainings. Knowledge and skills of today’s military personnel should be a result of schooling focused on regular combat actions, but also to organize and implement activities other than war. Modern leader should own necessary job and social competences covering not only necessary military knowledge, but also general humanistic preparation embedded in the civilization and culture reality, which will allow the fulfilment of the expectations posed by the European Union (and NATO) community.
That is why the Military University of Land Forces, in close cooperation with partner academies from Greece and Portugal, proposed developing of 4 international short-term competence training courses/modules (including the materials to support education process) and establishing of three thematic training centers, in which the leadership skills of cadets and officers – leaders in European Union – will be improved. Development of competence training courses was conducted according to the following division:
Portugal was responsible for Leadership and communication;
Greece was responsible for Crisis management;
Poland was responsible for creation of 2 workshops: Stress management ,and Leadership, Motivation and Influence.

Additionally, to fully exploit the subject, the intensive course for students “Leadership in Practice” was organised, during which students were subjected to external stimulus (based on leadership competencies development) that affected their decisions. The classes in these courses were conducted not only by experienced educators from partner academies, but also guest instructors from the U.S.
In organized workshops and intensive programme for students, according to project and partnership agreement, participated cadet test group of 48 students (16 students from each partner institution). Additionally, there were 18 teachers from partner institutions participating in the workshops for teachers. These workshops aimed at capacity building at each partner.
Conducting the test phase (test drive) of the programme that included military students, allowed necessary adjustment and corrections, especially in terms of feasibility and readibility of programme and teaching aids (e-books, e-learning courses, etc) for future users. Preparation of instructors/teachers and training aids allow future independent implementation of the program to partner and other willing users programmes, way after end of the project.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 219406,91 Eur

Project Coordinator

AKADEMIA WOJSK LADOWYCH imienia generala Tadeusza Kosciuszki & Country: PL

Project Partners

• Hellenic Army Academy
• MINISTERIO DA DEFESA NACIONAL