The Intelligence College in Europe participated for the third time in the international Paris Defence and Strategy Forum, organised by the Defence Academy of the École militaire (ACADEM). This forum, which follows on from the more nationally oriented event La Fabrique Défense (LFD), where the Intelligence College was also present, gained increased significance this year.

We took part in this international event organised by our ACADEM partner through three academic activities:

On 24 March, to mark the entry of the French Ministry of Defence think tank IRSEM into our academic network and to promote our European academic network ahead of our upcoming Munich academic conference, we organised an academic roundtable entitled “Intelligence failures: how to avoid or address them”. It was moderated by Dr Clément Renault (IRSEM) and featured three specialists in the field: Dr Dan Lomas (University of Nottingham and the Oxford Intelligence Group), a specialist on the Butler Report on the Iraq War; Professor Philippe Silberzahn (Emlyon business school), author, inter alia, of "Constructing Cassandra"; and Dr Bjørn Grønning (NORIS), author of one of the most recent non anglo-saxon studies on 16 cases of intelligence failures, published by Edinburgh University Press ("Contemporary Intelligence Warning Cases").

https://youtu.be/qItICyj6gEA?si=dQLV1bDfbvDQdIhO

On 24 and 25 March, as has been the case since 2022 (LFD, then PDSF 2024, 2025 and 2026), the winners of the Intelligence College-supported Lithuanian outreach initiative “Intelligence Officer for a Week” were invited to the forum. Since its inception, the College has been part of the selection board and provides the first prize in order to support and promote this excellent initiative. The Lithuanian intelligence community and the Institute of International Relations and Political Science at Vilnius University, led by Dr Margarita Šešelgytė, offer students the opportunity to discover the work of an intelligence analyst - an excellent outreach initiative that could be extended to other countries.

Presentation of the College and its activities during an interview conducted by Etienne Girard (L’Express) in the “Café stratégique” session on 26 March.

https://youtu.be/blCFEkqaUkA?si=SUGlYHxliW_4h7Qv

In 2025, we delivered the same number of activities, with as a highlight the keynote speech by Dr Gerhard Conrad on the challenges facing European intelligence, ahead of the ICE German Presidency.

The Intelligence College was pleased to welcome a significant number of colleagues and partners from intelligence services and academia, and to showcase its achievements - particularly in the academic field - which will culminate in June 2026 in a major academic conference in Germany and the first-ever European Intelligence Prize. The strong attendance at our roundtable, with a fully packed Castex conference room, clearly demonstrates the growing interest in a European intelligence culture.

Since the beginning of 2026, the ICE Academic Network has continued to expand and has welcomed new member countries and additional institutions from countries already represented in the Network.

We are pleased to welcome Switzerland as our 19 th Academic Network member. The Network has also been strengthened by the addition of the OSINT Centre of Excellence from Croatia and IRSEM from France. Austria has also significantly strengthened its academic presence within the Academic Network through the addition of the Austrian Center for Intelligence, Propaganda and
Security Studies (ACIPSS), Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz.

From 3 to 5 February 2026, the first “Security and Intelligence Awareness” course took place in Brussels, following a pilot session held last year.

Building on participants’ feedback and the observations of the course organisers, an enhanced version was developed, adopting a more direct and pedagogical approach centred on a clear message: because of our access and responsibilities, we are all potential targets for hostile services or organisations. How do they operate? How can an approach be identified? How can we protect ourselves? Who should be contacted in case of doubt?

The decision to deliver a more pragmatic and purposeful course, focused on highly practical guidance, proved particularly relevant. The programme was met with outstanding success, as reflected in the very positive feedback received from participants.

The College extends its sincere thanks to its partners — the Mihai Viteazul National Intelligence Academy (ANIMV) in Bucharest and the European Security and Defence College (ESDC) — without whom this initiative would not have been possible. Thanks are also due to all speakers from the European institutions and the College’s academic network.

We look forward to welcoming participants again in the second half of 2026 for the next edition.

On Wednesday, 18 February 2026, the Intelligence College in Europe Permanent Secretariat (ICE PS) had the pleasure of welcoming the management team of the OSINT Centre of Excellence in Zagreb to its Paris headquarters, led by its Director, Dr Tomislav Dokman.

Although the OSINT Centre of Excellence has only recently joined our 46-member academic network, it has been actively engaged with the Intelligence College for the past two years, taking part in several conferences and events. The Centre is also among the regular contributors to the annual Intelligence College “SIAC Analytical Course”, delivered to new intelligence officers joining the EU Strategic Intelligence Fusion Centres (EU INTCEN and EUMS INT), brought together under the Single Intelligence Analytical Capacity (SIAC) partnership.

This visit between colleagues and friends provided an opportunity to review the Centre’s most recent support to ICE activities, including contributions made in January, to take note of the strengthened academic programme, and to explore new, practical avenues to further develop our long-standing cooperation.

Hvala lijepa !

As part of Germany’s Presidency of the Intelligence College in Europe in 2026, the Permanent Secretariat was pleased to welcome, on Friday 16 January, the new Director General of Germany’s Federal Internal Service (BfV) Mr Sinan Selen.

The visit provided an opportunity to reaffirm Germany’s strong commitment, both in general and through the BfV in particular. This support is reflected in staffing contributions and regular training courses and is further highlighted this year through Germany’s Presidency of the Intelligence College. The President also reiterated the importance of strengthening multilateral cooperation not only at the operational level, but also through strategic dialogue and broader operational exchange, facilitated by the platform the College provides to its European members and partners.

This Presidency includes seven seminars and events throughout the year, including a seminar hosted by the BfV and an Academic Conference. It will also coincide with the election of the College’s first non-French Director. This milestone marks the full maturation and shared European ownership of a project initially launched as a French presidential initiative following the Sorbonne Speech of September 2017, and which has since developed into a lasting, fully European endeavour.

The Permanent Secretariat, and its leadership in particular, warmly thanks the President for his visit and looks forward to working together throughout Germany’s 2026 Presidency.

The Permanent Secretariat of the Intelligence College in Europe welcomes the start of the German Presidency of the Intelligence College in Europe and its theme, “Intelligence and Science”. Please find here the Presidency letter from Philipp Wolff, Coordinator of the Federal Intelligence Services and Head of Directorate-General 7 at the Federal Chancellery.

Norway is honored to hold the presidency of the Intelligence College in Europe (ICE) for 2025. This comes at a time when our collective security is being tested by increasingly complex and evolving threats.

A key priority for Norway is countering terrorism and violent extremism. Like many nations, we have experienced their devastating impact. These threats demand sustained attention, strategic foresight, and international collaboration.

As part of our presidency, we hosted the thematic seminar Tackling Terrorism and Extremism in Europe – Challenges, Strategies and Best Practices in Oslo on 1–2 October 2025.The event brought together 80 participants from 20 ICE member states, fostering dynamic discussions and cross-border learning.

The aim of the seminar was to raise awareness on trends, share academic insights, and strengthen policy development. We were proud to welcome speakers from Norway, the UK, Germany, France, Portugal, Sweden, Europol, and the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, reflecting the depth of our collective commitment to security and intelligence cooperation.

The seminar aimed to focus on emerging trends. Key topics included the shifting threat landscape in Europe, rising polarization, far-right extremism, the role of social media and emerging technologies like AI. Furthermore, the radicalization of minors was addressed.

Discussions emphasized the implications for intelligence and security services, highlighting actionable strategies to address the current problems. Cooperation among various sectors and services remains essential to succeed in preventing and countering violent extremism and terrorism. International cooperation is highly important.

This has truly been a collaborative effort, and we are very grateful to our ICE colleagues for all their support in making this a successful event.

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The Intelligence College in Europe (ICE / IntelCollege), a key actor within the intelligence community, was honoured to be invited to the 90th anniversary of the DNRED, the French National Directorate of Intelligence and Customs Investigations. On Tuesday, 16 September, the Director and Deputy Director of the College’s Permanent Secretariat—both of whom maintain close professional ties to the DNRED from their earlier careers—had the privilege of representing the College at this event.

One of the central themes of this dynamic morning was the fight against organised crime, a major issue at the European level. Beyond the already extensive bilateral cooperation, renewed efforts in minilateral and multilateral partnerships were highlighted as an essential necessity.

The Permanent Secretariat of the Intelligence College in Europe has been contributing to and supporting the activities of the Intelligence Chair at Sciences Po Aix for the past three years. During this time, it has shared with certificate and master’s students insights into the workings of European and EU intelligence, while also presenting the missions of the College in support of a strategic European intelligence culture.

This year, the Intelligence College in Europe was delighted to take part in the launch of the new academic year of the Sciences Po Aix Intelligence Chair!

A warm thank you goes to the new Director of Sciences Po Aix, Dr. Alissia Lefebure, to General Cholley, and to Dr. Walter Bruyère-Ostells of the Intelligence Chair, with whom fruitful discussions were held.

Since this year, the College is proud to count the very dynamic Sciences Po Aix Intelligence Chair as part of its European academic network, alongside 43 other universities and institutions (so far). Sciences Po Aix is one of the four French institutions in this European network. We hope that some of the excellent Sciences Po Aix students will take part in the College’s European competition, or that researchers will respond to the academic call for papers and join the 3rd Academic Conference, which will take place in June 2026 in Germany!