Over 30 defence industry participants have completed the three-day Defence Trailblazer Entrepreneurial Foundations for Defence (EFD) Intensive event in Adelaide. The program is designed to accelerate learning, foster collaboration, and deepen engagement with the defence innovation ecosystem.
“The course has been invaluable, the staff are fantastic, and I've really enjoyed the networking opportunities with likeminded people," Founder of Privacy Seal, Michael Turnbull, said.
EFD is a three-month program that starts mid-year and gives participants the tools they need to master defence markets. With a mix of webinars and onsite components in Adelaide and Canberra, the program covers Defence readiness, technology readiness and commercial readiness.
"The innovation coming out of this program proves what’s possible when you combine sharp minds with structured support,” Co-founder & CEO of Digital Village, Jason Hardie, stated. “Helping these ideas move from lab to market was not only rewarding but is how we future proof our economy and national resilience.”
The program is competitive, according to Defence Trailblazer, with 20 ventures joining the 2025 cohort. These ventures have completed earlier phases of the Defence Trailblazer’s DINAMIC commercialisation pathway programs and select participants will go on to the next stages.
“EFD Intensive provided a great opportunity to equip each team with the tools, insights, and connections needed to thrive in the defence innovation landscape,” Innovation Portfolio Manager at Defence Trailblazer, Liz Kobold, affirmed.
The EFD Intensive event featured a host of workshops, networking and sessions with subject matter experts. 20 mentors from defence industry and the innovation space, including several EFD alumni, gave their expertise to the program.
EFD Intensive kicked off with a workshop on value proposition articulation, before a panel discussion on structuring businesses for Defence and investment.
A key focus of EFD is preparing the participants to engage with Defence. The event included sessions on Test and Evaluation for Defence, de-risking products for Defence trials, and marketing to Defence, such as preparing Quad Charts and for trade show success.