Photo By Staff Sgt. James Harris | Mariam Makki, program analyst for Hacking for Defense, explains the steps of the...... read more read more
The Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station Spark Cell hosted a Hacking for Defense seminar, Nov. 4, 2023. H4D is a for-credit university course that connects multi-disciplinary students with tough Department of Defense and intelligence community problems.
During the briefing four employees from BMNT, an innovation consultancy agency, gave a synopsis of what the program does, who is involved, and what it aims to achieve. Several breakout sessions took place allowing Steel Airmen from the 911th Airlift Wing to identify problems that currently exist on base while finding potential solutions to each issue.
Since the program’s inception, more than 900 problems have been addressed in H4D courses by thousands of students across the country.
“Hacking for Defense takes the best and brightest university kids and gets them to solve DoD problems at an accelerated pace over the course of a semester,” said Mariam Makki, program analyst for H4D.
Using a process called “beneficiary discovery,” students find the most desirable solutions pathways for their problem, while simultaneously promoting engagement between students and the military. Beneficiary discovery allows teams to validate their problem, test their hypotheses, and develop their minimum viable products.
Makki has found that the DoD is the best space for students to do meaningful work and to gain a new perspective about the military, causing some students to want to enlist.
At the end of each semester H4D students present their findings which are acted upon either by creating a prototype or creating a startup company.
“I think this program could be one of the most effective ways to keep students involved in the military,” said Makki. “I think it could be a strong way to recruit the future DoD task force.”
| Date Taken: | 11.05.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 11.05.2023 15:21 |
| Story ID: | 457217 |
| Location: | CORAOPOLIS, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 105 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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