Theresan Military Academic Forum 2023 (TMAF 2023)
The Theresan Military Academic Forum is a scientific symposium that seeks to further the transfer of knowledge and develop the necessary skills, responsibility, and autonomy inherent to successful basic officer education. The TMAF includes a general orientation as well as a cyber specialisation, conceived to help military leaders coping with future challenges.
For the TMAF 2023, the main theme is "Cognitive Warfare". We believe that scientific-based knowledge is vital to increase operational readiness. Cognitive warfare is no exception in this regard. In cognitive warfare, the human mind is the battlefield, and the aim is to change not only what people think but how they think and act. Waged successfully, cognitive warfare shapes and influences individual and group beliefs and behaviours to favour an aggressor's objectives.1 Whereas information warfare seeks to control pure information in all forms, cognitive warfare seeks to control how individuals and populations react to the presented information.2 Therefore, achieving and preserving cognitive superiority is critical to military leaders.
1 “Countering cognitive warfare: awareness and resilience,” NATO Review - Countering cognitive warfare: awareness and resilience, May 20, 2021, www.nato.int/docu/review/articles.html.
2 Megan Burns, “Information Warfare: What and How?,” CS.CMU, Carnegie Mellon University, 1999, www.cs.cmu.edu.html .
Options for participation
A maximum of three persons per institution may participate as follows:
| Priority | Contribution | Administration |
| 1 | Lecture with publication | Free board & lodging |
| 2 | Lecture without publication | Free board |
| 3 | Participation | --- |
| 4 | Publication | --- |
Submitted contributions will be subject to a double peer review. They will be published by our cooperation partner, "The Defence Horizon Journal" (online), as well as in "Armis et Litteris" (hardcopy). In addition, on the final day of the forum, we will host an in-depth discussion and summary in German. In parallel, a cultural excursion to our federal capital Vienna will be organised.
The TMAF focuses on the education of future generations of military officers. Therefore, we would like to integrate officer cadets & students in the symposium. Thus, we kindly invite participants to bring an officer cadet or student from the home institution and include her/him in the presentation, if possible. The organising team will assign the available slots on a first-come, first-served principle, considering the priorities listed above. Please note that for participation with priority 1, regardless of the number of integrated speakers, accommodation and meals free of charge will be provided to only one (1) person/author.
In addition to thematic discussions, numerous side events will be offered to promote, deepen, and broaden (military) cultural exchanges; the nature of these exchanges will be decided depending on the pandemic situation, the weather and the interests of the participants.
Procedures for publication
Interested participants are cordially invited to apply with an abstract according to the following guidelines:
| Phase | Deadline |
| Call for Papers (submission of abstract with up to 250 words; endnotes not included; CV; template format) | 23rd Apr 2023 |
Information to the author about acceptance of the article by the TMAF Scientific Committee | 26th May 2023 |
Submission of the article for publication (3000-5000 words endnotes not included; template format) | 20th Aug 2023 |
| Review phase | 21st Aug - 20th Oct 2023 |
| Re-submission date for required modifications (if necessary) | 20th Oct 2023 |
| Publication availability online (TDHJ) | 5th Nov 2023 |
| Availability of the publication "Armis et Litteris" | 31st Mar 2024 |
For submitting abstracts (including a CV), please use the format template "TMAF Short Essay", which you can find on our website www.milak.at/en/tmaf2023 respectively www.emilyo.eu/node/878 and send them to tmaf@bmlv.gv.at. If a contribution is accepted, we request a picture of the author & speaker for designing the programme and the publications.
Download: Milestones, Call for Papers, Short Essay, Long Essay
Quality management of publication entries
→ all publication submissions are subject to a double peer review,
→ in cooperation with "The Defence Horizon Journal (TDHJ)",
→ under the auspices of the TMAF Scientific Committee and are published
→ in TDHJ (ISSN: 2710-3722 online; www.thedefencehorizon.org) respectively "Armis et Litteris" (ISBN: 978-3-9504893-8-5)
Provisional time-schedule
| Monday, 6th Nov 2023 | arrival and icebreaker |
| Tuesday, 7th Nov 2023 | TMAF (presentation, discussion, reflection) |
| Wednesday, 8th Nov 2023 | TMAF (presentation, discussion, reflection) |
| Thursday, 9th Nov 2023 | TMAF (presentation, discussion, reflection) On this day, the symposium's theme will be deepened with presentations and discussions exclusively in German. Interested speakers who know German are cordially invited to apply with an abstract. |
| Friday, 10th Nov 2023 | Departure |
Location
The challenging topic and the unique atmosphere in the Kasematten (www.kasematten-wn.at) in Wiener Neustadt make the TMAF 2023 a special event for participants interested in addressing the burning issues for selecting, training, and assessing military leaders.
Kasematten Wiener Neustadt
Bahngasse 27
2700 Wiener Neustadt
Application
Registration for the TMAF 2023 has to be done via our homepage www.milak.at/en/tmaf2023, by
1st September 2023.
Accommodation and rates
Accommodation for the speakers will be at the Hotel Hilton Garden Inn in Wiener Neustadt (option 1), located directly next to the Kasematten.
In addition to the Hilton Garden Inn, the organisation team recommends the Hotel Zentral (0.6 km) and the Hotel Le Park (1.7 km). Both hotels are located in the immediate vicinity of the Kasematten and the Theresian Military Academy and are easily and quickly accessible either by foot or with the offered shuttle service. Transfer to and from the TMAF will be provided exclusively to Hotel Le Parc. The following reduced prices can be guaranteed by booking via mail or phone by using the keyword „MilAk“only.
The cost of accommodation is:
Hotel Hilton Garden Inn (www.hiltonhotels.de/oesterreich/hilton-garden-inn-wiener-neustadt): € 90,- for a single - or € 95,- for a double occupancy per night (breakfast: € 20,- per person)
Hotel Le Parc (www.leparc.at/das-hotel): € 70,- for a single - or € 80,- for a double occupancy per night (breakfast: € 20,- per person)
Hotel Zentral (www.hotelzentral.at) : € 63,- for a single - or € 73,- rfor a double occupancy per night (breakfast: € 14,- per person)
Transport – exclusively – from/to the above-mentioned hotels to the venue will be provided.
Meals
The daily rate is € 35,00 for all participants and includes lunch and dinner as well as drinks and snacks during the forum.
During the in-processing on the first day, the respective amount of money for all participating days will be requested in cash (paying via credit card is not possible!).