Kick-Off Meeting for Quality Assurance 2026

In accordance with the EOD Centre of Excellence (EOD COE) Quality Assurance (QA) Plan 2026 and in alignment with BI-Strategic Command Directive 075-007 Education and Individual Training (E&IT) Directive, the EOD COE conducted its QA Kick-Off Meeting on 28 January 2026. The meeting formally initiated the QA activities for the 2026 Education and Individual Training cycle and reaffirmed the Centre’s commitment to a systematic, transparent, and performance-oriented QA framework.

On behalf of the Director, the EOD COE Chief of Staff  - Centre´s QA Manager, Colonel Zsolt Lajos Szilagyi, formally appointed members of the Education & Training Department as Course Directors (CDs) for the courses scheduled for delivery in 2026. Through the presentation of authorization letters and certificates, the Director delegated authority and accountability to the designated Course Directors for the planning, conduct, evaluation, and closure of assigned training activities, in line with the principles of governance and responsibility outlined in BI-SC Directive 075-007.

Colonel Szilagyi emphasized the central role of Course Directors in the E&IT lifecycle, highlighting their responsibility to ensure compliance with approved training requirements, Learning Objectives, and Quality Assurance procedures. He underlined that Course Directors are key actors in maintaining training relevance, effectiveness, and consistency, from initial preparation and coordination through execution, assessment, evaluation, and post-course reporting.

Appointed Course Directors for 2026:

•          NATO EOD Doctrine Course (ADL) – LTC Alexander Hugyar, PhD

•          NATO EOD Staff Officer Training (SOT) – CPT Radek Michalka

•          NATO EOD Staff Officer Training (SOT) Mobile Training Team (MTT) – 1LT Erik Kosar

•          Home-Made Explosives Course – Advanced (HMEC-A) – 1LT Katarina Lichvarcikova

•          Home-Made Explosives Course – Basic (HMEC-B) – 1LT Erik Kosar

•          NATO CBRN EOD Incident Management Staff Officer Training (IM SOT) – 1LT Katarina Lichvarcikova

The quality and relevance of EOD COE training are ensured through the combined expertise of internal subject matter experts and close cooperation with external military organizations, industry partners, and academic institutions. This approach supports interoperability, innovation, and the continuous enhancement of NATO E&IT outputs, as required.

Further information on the 2026 Education & Individual Training (E&IT) activities is available at:

https://www.eodcoe.org/en/education-training/education-individual-training-et-activities-2026/

Text, Photo: Vladimír Voštiar (SVK, CIV)