Conversations on Innovation - Culture Shift and Capability with EDGY

Summary

In this episode of Conversations on Innovation, Elsee speaks with Wing Commander Kylie Cimen, Director of Preparedness Innovation, about how the EDGY program is transforming the Royal Australian Air Force's approach to innovation. Cimen explains that innovation must directly contribute to Defence's core business of preparedness and how EDGY provides practical avenues for aviators to design, prototype, and test ideas. 

Kylie shares her own journey from Training Systems Officer to Reserve leadership, describing how her return to Defence inspired a renewed focus on aligning innovation to operational needs. She highlights the importance of strategic sponsorship to turn ideas into tangible capabilities and stresses that everyone in Defence—uniformed and civilian—has a role to play in driving innovation. EDGY’s strength lies in its bottom-up approach: empowering individuals at every level to address real challenges and connecting them with the support they need.