Solving national security issues with the Lean Launchpad
Hacking for Defense (H4D) is a project-driven course that teaches problem-solving, creative thinking, and solution development.
The class provides students with a menu of problems to solve, with each problem being sourced directly from a sponsor within the Department of Defense (DoD). Working directly with DoD personnel, class mentors, and other experts, students spend the semester crafting and refining solutions that can be adopted in short order.
Students’ work and solutions have real-world impact.
Students break into teams of 3-4, and each team receives a real-life problem statement from the military. Over the course of the semester, students work hand-in-hand with their problem sponsor as they interview as many people related to their problem as they can. Students continually develop their solution as they become experts on their topic. By the end of the course, students are required to have a minimum viable product (MVP) and/or prototype.