Connections UK 2024.
Dates: Connections UK 2024 took place from Tuesday 10 to Thursday 12 September 2024. A copy of the programme is here.
Connections 2024 took place at Brunel University in Uxbridge, just to the west of London.
Connections UK was delighted to be helping Brunel to launch a new Masters of Arts course in wargaming.
For more details of this MA, click here.
The Connections UK 2024 Events were as follows:
Tuesday 10 September 2024:
Welcome and Opening Address. Slides. Video. Audio. The link to the Tribute to Dr Peter Perla is here. His Obituary is here.
Conference Icebreaker: Rollbahn. A game of logistics and supply in a contemporary setting.
Introduction to Wargaming Short Course: Tom Mouat
Workshops:
- The Understanding and Application of Red Teaming - Graham Longley-Brown, Rebecca Brooks and Noel Wilde. Slides. Output Slides
- The Analysis led Wargaming Lifecycle - James Bennett. Slides. Audio.
- Building the Foundations of Successful Wargames - Jeff Appelget. Slides.
- Unethical Wargaming - Anna Lövström Svedin. Slides. Output Slides.
Experiences of AI in Wargames. Chair: Anna Knack. Intro Audio.
- Exploring Granularity in Analytical Wargames with AI - Baptise Alloui-Cros. Slides. Audio.
- Matrix Gaming with LLMs - Lewis Griffin. Slides. Audio.
- AI in Wargaming - Amelia Freeman. Slides. Audio.
The Next Generation. Chair: Louis Jeffries.
- Connections Next - Louis Jeffries and Will Bone. Slides.
- The Why, What and How of Achieving the Next Generation - Matt Caffrey. Slides.
- How to Grow Wargaming Skills - Gareth Jones. Slides.
Wednesday 11 September 2024:
Details of the new Brunel MA in Wargaming and Resilience Planning. Slides. Audio.
Address by Professor Jonathan Wastling, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Brunel University. Audio.
Wargaming in Academia. Chair: Anna Nettleship.
- Introducing Wargaming in Non-Military Education - Pijus Kruminas. Slides. Audio.
- Wargaming as a Historical Research Method - Steven Wagner. Slides. Audio.
- From Play to Power - Patrik Hulterstrom. Slides. Audio.
- Wargaming Housing and Ageing - Alasdair Rutherford and Vikki McCall. Slides. Audio.
Wargaming Deterrence, Escalation and De-Escalation. Chair: Ed Shire.
- Understanding Deterrence and Escalation Dynamics - Oli Barton, Mike Bagwell and Steve Webber. Slides. Audio.
- Wargaming Escalation - Perry Jago. Slides. Audio.
- Responsible use of Wargaming to Theorize on Escalation Including Nuclear - Ruby Booth. Slides. Audio.
- Strategic Wargaming - Joe Williams. Slides. Audio.
Resilience Gaming. Chair: Rob Grayson.
- Resilience Gaming - Rob Grayson. Slides. Audio.
- Homeland Resilience - Joe Liano. Slides. Audio.
- Adrian Taylor. This talk did not have slides. Audio.
Military Deception Wargaming. Chair: Faye Johnson. Slides.
- What is Military Deception and Why is it Important - David Mason. Slides. Audio.
- Military Deception: A Challenge to the Wargaming Community - Neil Verral. Slides. Audio.
- Executed Deception: Wargaming using Deterrence Gaming as a Model - Stephen Downes-Martin. Slides. Audio.
- Augmenting Doctrine and Education on Military Deception - Hayley Martin. Slides. Audio.
Thursday 12 September 2024:
The Peter Perla Commemorative Talk.
- The Shape of Wargames Past - Professor Phil Sabin. Slides. Audio.
- The Future of Wargaming - Prof David Banks. Slides. Audio.
Integrating Modelling and Simulations and Artificial Intelligence into Wargaming.
This was a workshop led by Michaela Gawrys, Timothy Clancy and Kate Klemic. Audio.
Microgames: Designing Games with Small Footprints.
This was a workshop led by Evan D'Elessandro, Josh Kovan and Thomas Danger. Slides. Audio.
Wargaming for Senior Officials / Sponsoring a Wargame. Chair: Colin Marston. Slides. Intro Audio.
- Wargaming for Senior Policymakers - Alan Edwards. Slides. Audio.
- Empowering Leadership: Understanding and Maximizing the Role of Sponsors in Wargaming - Rob Burks. Slides. Audio.
- The Wargame Comissioner and Deliverer - Tom Ellen. Slides. Audio. Defence Wargaming & Experimentation Hub Brochure.
| Financial and Other Support |
Connections UK CIC would like to acknowledge the support from Vedette Consulting Limited whose donation has allowed us to provide reduced attendance fees for students and those less able to pay.
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Privacy/Security: As part of the Connections UK conference proceedings, photos of the event may be put on this website. The assumption is that the name on your badge and your image does not amount to the definition of "personal data" under GDPR. If you do not wish to have a photo with you name/face on it used in this way, you MUST ensure you wear a RED lanyard (available when booking in).
Naming. Please ensure your badge name is appropriate for a professional context, so "Phil Sabin" or "Amanda" are fine, but "OrkBossKillah" is probably not. You are also encouraged to add personal pronouns - this is totally voluntary but helps signal that you are committed to diversity and inclusion.
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Guidelines: The aim and purpose of Connections UK is to help bring together two main audiences: People that have something to say about wargaming in order to help build / generate / broaden the community; and People that want to use wargaming to help understanding in order to find out if it is appropriate for their needs. You are therefore asked to note:
- Wargaming is mainstream. To this end, we don't need to waste any time on justifying our existence or apologising for ourselves. All the delegates attending a "professional wargaming conference" will know what they are getting themselves into (and if they aren't, they should be). Let's just assume that they are and you can spend more time concentrating on your area of expertise.
- Timings are tight. Please don't overrun as it simply messes up the programme for everyone else.
- Do not advertise. It would be remiss to not mention that the cardinal sin for a presenter is to give a thinly veiled advertising slot for your sponsor's products or services. The delegates want to be informed and educated about Wargaming ways, means and methods - you are the expert so please concentrate on these. If any delegate wants more commercial information, they can contact you afterwards. Please include your sponsor's details in a slide at the beginning or the end, but no organisation diagrams or other company details that have nothing to do with the topic.
- Making Changes. We understand that you are likely to have to make changes to your presentation. This is completely acceptable, and new versions can be sent at any time up to and including the event date.
- Conference Proceedings. We will try to have an audio recording and a PDF copy of your presentation (but not questions) placed on the Connections UK website following the conference, except in the case of Senior Government Officials. You have been invited on the basis that this is acceptable - the clue is in the title "Connections" - we are trying to share information and best practice with each other.
- Presentation File Formats. Please provide your presentation in PowerPoint or PDF format, but ODF is acceptable.
If you have any questions, please contact the organisers here.
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A Tribute to the late Dr Peter Paul Perla, III
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It is with great sadness that we announce Peter Perla passed away suddenly on January 21st, 2024. On behalf of the wargaming community we send our heartfelt condolences to his wife JoAnn and children, Stephen and Sara.
Peter was a giant amongst wargamers, having affected thousands of lives through his work, mentoring and friendship. He not only influenced wargamers, he also influenced those who serve on the battlefield. As Matt Caffrey put it "since wargaming saves lives, Peter's contributions saved a great many".
He was a sought after consultant and speaker, internationally as well as nationally, for his insights and positive contributions. His refusal to accept nonsense was always tempered by his dry wit, innate kindness and willingness to teach and advise. His passing leaves a gap in the professional community which even his many mentees will find hard to fill.
The link to a Tribute video to Dr Peter Perla is here. His Obituary is here.
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