Post by Sophia Garofalo

Yesterday, I had the immense privilege of presenting my research on Canada’s defence procurement process at the Conference of Defence Associations Institute Graduate Student Conference. It was both humbling and inspiring to be surrounded by fellow graduate students and judges conducting such impressive research and making meaningful contributions to the field. As a student specializing in terrorism studies, I certainly did not expect to find myself speaking to a panel of accomplished career experts on procurement, but I’m incredibly grateful for the challenge. My presentation argued that Canada’s Defence Investment Agency must make tradeoffs between speed, sovereignty, and capability earlier and more transparently within the procurement process, while ensuring that capability is delivered effectively into the hands of the Canadian Armed Forces. To support this argument, I drew on procurement models and best practices from Sweden, the Netherlands, and Australia. It was an honour to be recognized as the Outstanding Speaker! Congratulations to the well-deserved top three finishers, and to all of the presenters who shared their work yesterday. I’m deeply grateful to the Conference of Defence Associations Institute team for creating a platform where graduate students can connect with professionals in the defence and security space and present their research. A final thank you to the panel of judges, who dedicated an entire day to mentoring, encouraging, and engaging with us — especially my mentor, Rob M., whose support throughout the process meant a great deal to me. I’m leaving this experience feeling incredibly inspired and excited to continue contributing to Canadian defence and security policy.