We simply completed our ninth annual Hacking for Protection class at Stanford.
What a 12 months.
Hacking for Protection, now in 60 universities, has groups of scholars working to grasp 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 forth. – whereas concurrently constructing a sequence of minimal viable merchandise and creating a path to deployment.
On the finish of the quarter, every of the groups gave a ultimate “Classes Realized” presentation. In contrast to conventional demo days or Shark Tanks that are, “Right here’s how sensible I’m, and isn’t this an incredible product, please give me cash,” the Classes Realized displays inform the story of every crew’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 the whole lot you thought you knew on day one was incorrect and the way they ultimately bought it proper.
Right here’s how they did it and what they delivered.
New for 2024
This 12 months, 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 complicated issues, ones with a number of shifting elements, the place the answer isn’t apparent and lacks a definitive formulation. The forms of issues our Hacking For Protection college students work on fall into this class. They’re usually ambiguous. They begin with an issue from a sponsor, and never solely is the answer unclear however determining methods to purchase and deploy it is usually complicated. Most frequently college students discover that in hindsight the issue was a symptom of a extra attention-grabbing and sophisticated downside – and that Acquistion of options within the Dept of Protection is not like something within the industrial world.
And the stakeholders and establishments usually 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 exhibits the forms of issues Hacking for Protection college students encounter, with the commonest 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 ultimate Classes Realized displays 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 discuss. He reminded our college students that 1) struggle is an extension of politics; 2) struggle is human; 3) struggle is unsure; 4) struggle is a contest of wills.
In case you can’t see the video of H.R. McMaster’s discuss, click on right here.
The week previous to our ultimate displays 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 search out methods to serve.
Classes Realized Presentation Format
For the ultimate Classes Realized presentation lots of the eight groups introduced a 2-minute video to supply context about their downside. 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 top the category all of the groups realized that the issue as given by the sponsor had morphed into one thing greater, deeper and far more attention-grabbing.
All of the displays are value a watch.
Group Home of Legal guidelines
Utilizing LLMs to Simplify Authorities Resolution Making
In case you can’t see the Group Home of Legal guidelines 2-minute video, click on right here
In case you can’t see the Group Home of Legal guidelines slides, click on right here
Mission-Pushed Entrepreneurship
This class is a part of a much bigger concept – Mission-Pushed Entrepreneurship. As an alternative of scholars or college 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 Widespread Mission Venture have helped promote the growth of the methodology worldwide.)
Mission-driven entrepreneurship is the reply to college students who say, “I need to give again. I need to make my group, nation or world a greater place, whereas being challenged to unravel among the hardest issues.”
Caribbean Clear Local weather
Serving to Barbados Undertake Clear Power
In case you can’t see the Caribbean Clear Local weather 2-minute video, click on right here
In case you 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 instructing case research and/or 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 objective was to show each principle and follow.
The identical 12 months we began the category, it was adopted by the Nationwide Science Basis to coach Principal Investigators who needed 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 grew to become the usual for science commercialization for the Nationwide Science Basis, Nationwide Institutes of Well being and the Division of Power, to this point coaching 3,051 groups and launching 1,300+ startups.
Group Defending Youngsters
Serving to the FBI Purchase LLMs for Little one Security
In case you can’t see the Group Defending Youngsters 2-minute video, click on right here
In case you can’t see the Group 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 unravel or the bigger points civil society was grappling with. As we thought of how we may get college students engaged, we realized the identical Lean LaunchPad/I-Corps class would supply a framework to take action. That 12 months 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).
Group L Infinity
Bettering Satellite tv for pc Tasking
In case you can’t see the Group L∞ 2-minute video, click on right here
In case you can’t see the Group L∞ slides, click on right here
Objectives for the Hacking for Protection Class
Our main objective was to show college students Lean Innovation strategies whereas they engaged in nationwide public service. As we speak if faculty college students need to give again to their nation, they consider Educate 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 group or different authorities companies.
Within the class we noticed that college students may study in regards to 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 strategy that would assist them perceive and higher reply to quickly evolving threats. We needed to indicate that if we may get groups to quickly uncover the actual issues within the area utilizing Lean strategies, and solely then articulate the necessities to unravel them, protection acquisition applications may function at velocity and urgency and ship well timed and wanted options.
Lastly, we needed to familiarize college students with the navy as a career and assist them higher perceive its experience, and its correct function in society. We hoped it might additionally present our sponsors within the Division of Protection and Intelligence group that civilian college students could make a significant contribution to downside understanding and fast prototyping of options to real-world issues.
Group Centiment
Data Operations Optimized
In case you can’t see the Group Centiment 2-minute video, click on right here
In case you can’t see the Group Centiment slides, click on right here
Mission-Pushed in 50 Universities and Persevering with to Increase 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 Influence (Non-Income) 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.
Group Guyana’s Inexperienced Progress
Water Administration for Guyanese Farmers
Screenshot
In case you can’t see the Group Guyana’s Inexperienced Progress 2-minute video, click on right here
In case you can’t see the Group Guyana’s Inexperienced Progress slides, click on right here
Go-to-Market/Deployment Methods
The preliminary objective of the groups is to make sure they perceive the issue. The subsequent step is to see if they will discover mission/answer match (the DoD equal of business product/market match.) However most significantly, the category teaches the groups in regards to the tough and sophisticated path of getting an answer within the palms of a warfighter/beneficiary. Who writes the requirement? What’s an OTA? What’s coloration of cash? What’s a Program Supervisor? Who owns the present contract? …
Group Dynamic Area Operations
Cubesats for Area Inspection Coaching
Screenshot
In case you can’t see the Group Dynamic Area Operations 2-minute video, click on right here
In case you can’t see the Group Dynamic Area Operations slides, click on right here
Group Spectra Labs
Offering real-time consciousness of ..
This crew’s presentation is on the market upon request.
In case you can’t see the Spectra Labs slides, click on right here
What’s Subsequent For These Groups?
After they graduate, the Stanford college students on these groups have the choose of jobs in startups, corporations, and consulting companies. Home of Legal guidelines bought accepted and has already began at Y-Combinator. L-Infinity, Dynamics Area Operations crew (now Juno Astrodynamics,) and Spectra Labs are began work this week at H4X Labs, an accelerator targeted on constructing dual-use corporations that promote to each the federal government and industrial companies. Lots of the groups will proceed to work with their downside sponsor. A number of will be part of the Stanford Gordian Knot Heart for Nationwide Safety Innovation which is concentrated on the intersection of coverage, operational ideas, and expertise.
In our submit class survey 86% of the scholars stated that the category had impression on their rapid subsequent steps of their profession. Over 75% stated it modified their opinion of working with the Division of Protection and different USG organizations.
It Takes A Village
Whereas I authored this weblog submit, this class is a crew undertaking. 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 essential methods.
The instructing crew consisted of myself and:
- Pete Newell, retired Military Colonel and ex Director of the Military’s Speedy Equipping Power, 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 Heart for Worldwide Safety and Cooperation.
- Steve Weinstein, accomplice at America’s Frontier Fund, 30-year veteran of Silicon Valley expertise corporations and Hollywood media corporations. 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 mild infantry squad chief in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Our instructing assistants this 12 months 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 information 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 Heart for Nationwide Safety Innovation, Hacking For Protection |
