We simply completed our ninth annual Hacking for Protection class at Stanford.
What a yr.
Hacking for Protection, now in 60 universities, has groups of scholars working to know and assist remedy nationwide safety issues. At Stanford this quarter the 8 groups of 40 college students collectively interviewed 968 beneficiaries, stakeholders, necessities writers, program managers, business companions, and so on. – whereas concurrently constructing a sequence of minimal viable merchandise and growing a path to deployment.
On the finish of the quarter, every of the groups gave a remaining “Classes Discovered” presentation. Not like conventional demo days or Shark Tanks that are, “Right here’s how sensible I’m, and isn’t this an awesome product, please give me cash,” the Classes Discovered shows inform the story of every workforce’s 10-week journey and hard-won studying and discovery. For all of them it’s a curler coaster narrative describing what occurs whenever you uncover that every part you thought you knew on day one was flawed and the way they finally received it proper.
Right here’s how they did it and what they delivered.
New for 2024
This yr, along with the issues from the Protection Division and Intelligence Neighborhood we had two issues from the State Division and one from the FBI.
These are “Depraved” Issues
Depraved issues refer to actually advanced issues, ones with a number of transferring elements, the place the answer isn’t apparent and lacks a definitive system. The forms of issues our Hacking For Protection college students work on fall into this class. They’re typically ambiguous. They begin with an issue from a sponsor, and never solely is the answer unclear however determining easy methods to purchase and deploy it is usually advanced. Most frequently college students discover that in hindsight the issue was a symptom of a extra fascinating and sophisticated drawback – and that Acquistion of options within the Dept of Protection is not like something within the business world.
And the stakeholders and establishments typically have totally different relationships with one another – some are collaborative, some have items of the issue or answer, and others might need conflicting values and pursuits.
The determine reveals the forms of issues Hacking for Protection college students encounter, with the most typical ones shaded.
Visitor Audio system: Doug Beck – Protection Innovation Unit, Radha Plumb – CDAO. H.R. McMaster – former Nationwide Safety Advisor and Condoleezza Rice – former Secretary of State
Our remaining Classes Discovered shows began with an introduction by Doug Beck, director of the Protection Innovation Unit and Radha Plumb, DoD’s Chief of the Digital and AI Workplace– reminding the scholars of the significance of Hacking for Protection and congratulating them on their contribution to nationwide safety.
H.R. McMaster gave an inspiring speak. He reminded our college students that 1) conflict is an extension of politics; 2) conflict is human; 3) conflict is unsure; 4) conflict is a contest of wills.
For those who can’t see the video of H.R. McMaster’s speak, click on right here.
The week previous to our remaining shows the category heard inspirational remarks from Dr. Condoleezza Rice, former United States Secretary of State. Dr. Rice gave a sweeping overview of the prevailing threats to our nationwide safety and the significance of getting our greatest and brightest concerned in public service.
As a former Secretary of State, Dr. Rice was particularly inspired to see our two State Division sponsored groups this quarter. She left the scholars impressed to seek out methods to serve.
Classes Discovered Presentation Format
For the ultimate Classes Discovered presentation most of the eight groups introduced a 2-minute video to supply context about their drawback. This was adopted by an 8-minute slide presentation describing their buyer discovery journey over the ten weeks. Whereas all of the groups used the Mission Mannequin Canvas, (movies right here), Buyer Improvement and Agile Engineering to construct Minimal Viable Merchandise, every of their journeys was distinctive.
By the tip the category all of the groups realized that the issue as given by the sponsor had morphed into one thing larger, deeper and rather more fascinating.
All of the shows are value a watch.
Workforce Home of Legal guidelines
Utilizing LLMs to Simplify Authorities Resolution Making
For those who can’t see the Workforce Home of Legal guidelines 2-minute video, click on right here
For those who can’t see the Workforce Home of Legal guidelines slides, click on right here
Mission-Pushed Entrepreneurship
This class is a part of a much bigger thought – Mission-Pushed Entrepreneurship. As an alternative of scholars or school coming in with their very own concepts, we ask them to work on societal issues, whether or not they’re issues for the State Division or the Division of Protection or non-profits/NGOs or the Oceans and Local weather or for something the scholars are keen about. The trick is we use the identical Lean LaunchPad / I-Corps curriculum — and the identical class construction – experiential, hands-on– pushed this time by a mission-model not a enterprise mannequin. (The Nationwide Science Basis and the Frequent Mission Venture have helped promote the growth of the methodology worldwide.)
Mission-driven entrepreneurship is the reply to college students who say, “I wish to give again. I wish to make my neighborhood, nation or world a greater place, whereas being challenged to resolve among the hardest issues.”
Caribbean Clear Local weather
Serving to Barbados Undertake Clear Vitality
For those who can’t see the Caribbean Clear Local weather 2-minute video, click on right here
For those who can’t see the Caribbean Clear Local weather slides, click on right here
It Began With An Concept
Hacking for Protection has its origins within the Lean LaunchPad class I first taught at Stanford in 2011. I noticed that educating case research and/or easy methods to write a marketing strategy as a capstone entrepreneurship class didn’t match the hands-on chaos of a startup. Moreover, there was no entrepreneurship class that mixed experiential studying with the Lean methodology. Our aim was to show each concept and follow.
The identical yr we began the category, it was adopted by the Nationwide Science Basis to coach Principal Investigators who wished to get a federal grant for commercializing their science (an SBIR grant.) The NSF noticed, “The category is the scientific methodology for entrepreneurship. Scientists perceive speculation testing” and relabeled the category because the NSF I-Corps (Innovation Corps). I-Corps turned the usual for science commercialization for the Nationwide Science Basis, Nationwide Institutes of Well being and the Division of Vitality, up to now coaching 3,051 groups and launching 1,300+ startups.
Workforce Defending Youngsters
Serving to the FBI Purchase LLMs for Youngster Security
For those who can’t see the Workforce Defending Youngsters 2-minute video, click on right here
For those who can’t see the Workforce Defending Youngsters slides, click on right here
Origins Of Hacking For Protection
In 2016, brainstorming with Pete Newell of BMNT and Joe Felter at Stanford, we noticed that college students in our analysis universities had little connection to the issues their authorities was attempting to resolve or the bigger points civil society was grappling with. As we thought of how we might get college students engaged, we realized the identical Lean LaunchPad/I-Corps class would offer a framework to take action. That yr we launched each Hacking for Protection and Hacking for Diplomacy (with Professor Jeremy Weinstein and the State Division) at Stanford. The Division of Protection adopted and scaled Hacking for Protection throughout 60 universities whereas Hacking for Diplomacy is obtainable at JMU and RIT –, sponsored by the Division of State Bureau of Diplomatic Safety (see right here).
Workforce L Infinity
Bettering Satellite tv for pc Tasking
For those who can’t see the Workforce L∞ 2-minute video, click on right here
For those who can’t see the Workforce L∞ slides, click on right here
Targets for the Hacking for Protection Class
Our main aim was to show college students Lean Innovation strategies whereas they engaged in nationwide public service. As we speak if faculty college students wish to give again to their nation, they consider Train for America, the Peace Corps, or AmeriCorps or maybe the US Digital Service or the GSA’s 18F. Few think about alternatives to make the world safer with the Division of Protection, Intelligence neighborhood or different authorities businesses.
Within the class we noticed that college students might study concerning the nation’s threats and safety challenges whereas working with innovators contained in the DoD and Intelligence Neighborhood. On the identical time the expertise would introduce to the sponsors, who’re innovators contained in the Division of Protection (DOD) and Intelligence Neighborhood (IC), a technique that might assist them perceive and higher reply to quickly evolving threats. We wished to indicate that if we might get groups to quickly uncover the actual issues within the discipline utilizing Lean strategies, and solely then articulate the necessities to resolve them, protection acquisition applications might function at velocity and urgency and ship well timed and wanted options.
Lastly, we wished to familiarize college students with the army as a occupation and assist them higher perceive its experience, and its correct function in society. We hoped it will additionally present our sponsors within the Division of Protection and Intelligence neighborhood that civilian college students could make a significant contribution to drawback understanding and speedy prototyping of options to real-world issues.
Workforce Centiment
Info Operations Optimized
For those who can’t see the Workforce Centiment 2-minute video, click on right here
For those who can’t see the Workforce Centiment slides, click on right here
Mission-Pushed in 50 Universities and Persevering with to Broaden in Scope and Attain
What began as a category is now a motion.
From its starting with our Stanford class, Hacking for Protection is now provided in over 50 universities within the U.S., in addition to within the UK and Australia. Steve Weinstein began Hacking for Impression (Non-Earnings) and Hacking for Native (Oakland) at U.C. Berkeley, and Hacking for Oceans at each Scripps and UC Santa Cruz, in addition to Hacking for Local weather and Sustainability at Stanford. Hacking for Schooling will begin this fall at Stanford.
Workforce Guyana’s Inexperienced Development
Water Administration for Guyanese Farmers
Screenshot
For those who can’t see the Workforce Guyana’s Inexperienced Development 2-minute video, click on right here
For those who can’t see the Workforce Guyana’s Inexperienced Development slides, click on right here
Go-to-Market/Deployment Methods
The preliminary aim of the groups is to make sure they perceive the issue. The following step is to see if they’ll discover mission/answer match (the DoD equal of business product/market match.) However most significantly, the category teaches the groups concerning the tough and sophisticated path of getting an answer within the arms of a warfighter/beneficiary. Who writes the requirement? What’s an OTA? What’s shade of cash? What’s a Program Supervisor? Who owns the present contract? …
Workforce Dynamic Area Operations
Cubesats for Area Inspection Coaching
Screenshot
For those who can’t see the Workforce Dynamic Area Operations 2-minute video, click on right here
For those who can’t see the Workforce Dynamic Area Operations slides, click on right here
Workforce Spectra Labs
Offering real-time consciousness of ..
This workforce’s presentation is offered upon request.
For those who can’t see the Spectra Labs slides, click on right here
What’s Subsequent For These Groups?
Once they graduate, the Stanford college students on these groups have the choose of jobs in startups, firms, and consulting companies. Home of Legal guidelines received accepted and has already began at Y-Combinator. L-Infinity, Dynamics Area Operations workforce (now Juno Astrodynamics,) and Spectra Labs are began work this week at H4X Labs, an accelerator targeted on constructing dual-use firms that promote to each the federal government and business companies. Most of the groups will proceed to work with their drawback sponsor. A number of will be a part of the Stanford Gordian Knot Middle for Nationwide Safety Innovation which is targeted on the intersection of coverage, operational ideas, and expertise.
In our publish class survey 86% of the scholars mentioned that the category had impression on their quick subsequent steps of their profession. Over 75% mentioned it modified their opinion of working with the Division of Protection and different USG organizations.
It Takes A Village
Whereas I authored this weblog publish, this class is a workforce mission. The key sauce of the success of Hacking for Protection at Stanford is the extraordinary group of devoted volunteers supporting our college students in so many important methods.
The educating workforce consisted of myself and:
- Pete Newell, retired Military Colonel and ex Director of the Military’s Fast Equipping Pressure, now CEO of BMNT.
- Joe Felter, retired Military Colonel; and former deputy assistant secretary of protection for South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania; and William J. Perry Fellow at Stanford’s Middle for Worldwide Safety and Cooperation.
- Steve Weinstein, associate at America’s Frontier Fund, 30-year veteran of Silicon Valley expertise firms and Hollywood media firms. Steve was CEO of MovieLabs, the joint R&D lab of all the most important movement image studios. He runs H4X Labs.
- Jeff Decker, a Stanford researcher specializing in dual-use analysis. Jeff served within the U.S. Military as a particular operations gentle infantry squad chief in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Our educating assistants this yr had been Joel Johnson, Malika Aubakirova, Spencer Paul, Ethan Tiao, Evan Szablowski, and Josh Pickering. A particular due to the Protection Innovation Unit (DIU) and its Nationwide Safety Innovation Community (NSIN) for supporting this system at Stanford and throughout the nation, in addition to Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
31 Sponsors, Enterprise and Nationwide Safety Mentors
The groups had been assisted by the originators of their issues – the sponsors.
Sponsors: Jackie Tame, Nate Huston, Mark Breier, Dave Wiltse, Katherine Beamer, Jeff Fields, Dave Miller, Shannon Rooney, and David Ryan.
Nationwide Safety Mentors helped college students who got here into the category with no data of the Dept of Protection, State and the FBI perceive the complexity, intricacies and nuances of these organizations: Brad Boyd, Matt MacGregor, David Vernal, Alphanso “Fonz” Adams, Ray Powell, Sam Townsend, Tom Kulisz, Wealthy Lawson, Mark McVay, Nick Shenkin, David Arulanantham and Matt Lintker.
Enterprise Mentors helped the groups perceive if their options might be a commercially profitable enterprise: Katie Tobin, Marco Romani, Rafi Holtzman, Rachel Costello, Donnie Hassletine, Craig Seidel, Diane Schrader and Matt Croce.
Because of all!
Filed below: Company/Gov’t Innovation, Gordian Knot Middle for Nationwide Safety Innovation, Hacking For Protection |