IHEDN Endowment Fund

Designed for students aged 18 to 30 in the Ile-de-France region preparing a higher education diploma in professional purpose (BTS, BUT, licence, master, etc.), the «Découverte» cycle has been organised every year since 2011 by the Endowment Fund of the IHEDN (Institut des hautes études de défense nationale) with the support of the SNCF.

In 2025, this training course - which was increasingly successful - became the «Security-Defence Continuum» cycle and was extended by half a day.

The «Security and Defence Continuum» cycle pursues the initial objective of providing in-depth information on our defence and security policy as well as safety issues at SNCF.

In particular, it relies on direct exchanges between participants, military personnel and public service professionals.

The programme takes place over three and a half days, with accommodation in full board (accommodation and catering): after conferences Introduction to the École Militaire (Paris 7)^e), the session alternates between immersion visits of a military unit (regiment, base, etc.) and sites representative of the SNCF's security business.

The aim is to create a collective reflection on the’spirit of defence and the security-defence continuum, around specific topics. The participants' conclusions are presented during the closing afternoon, in the presence of authorities from the SNCF and the IHEDN.

The session ends with the issue of a certificate.