How it works
Experiential Learning
Hacking for Defense® is a hands-on program that immerses student teams by having them test their business model hypotheses outside the classroom. Inside the classroom, it deliberately trades off lecture time for student/teaching team interaction. From the first day of class, teams get out of the classroom and learn by doing.
In the class, the teams are not building a business, they are validating (or invalidating) their hypotheses.
Throughout the course the teams will modify the mission model (as they iterate or pivot). This results in the teams bringing sponsor and market needs in dual use cases forward, after which they can decide if there’s a worthwhile business to be built.
What this class does not include is execution of the business model. This course is all about discovery outside of the classroom.
The Flipped Classroom
The class is run using a “flipped classroom.” Instead of lecturing about the basics during class time, the instructor assigns the core lectures as homework.
Students watch a lecture on each component of the Mission Model Canvas, take a short quiz, and come to a class prepared with questions about the topic.
Instructors then supplement the video lectures with their own in-class short lecture about the week’s mission model topic. This allows instructors to use the class time for review of the concepts or advanced topics.
Team Teaching: Students up Front
Rather than a single instructor lecturing in front of the classroom, the class is organized around the concept of a team of instructors commenting and critiquing on each team’s progress—sitting in the back of the classroom.
It’s the students who are doing the teaching, standing up in front of the class every week, sharing their progress while getting the instructor’s comments and critiques.
While the comments may be specific to each team, the insights are almost always applicable to all teams.
Educator’s Guide
Where is H4D Taught?
Arizona State University
Carnegie Mellon University
College of William & Mary
Colorado State University
Columbia University
Duke University
Florida A&M University
George Washington University
Georgetown University
Indiana State University
Indiana University - Bloomington
James Madison University
Naval Postgraduate School
Rochester Institute of Technology
San Diego State University
South Dakota Mines
Stanford University
Texas A&M University
The Ohio State University
Tulane University
United States Air Force Academy
United States Military Academy West Point
University of Alabama - Huntsville
University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa
University of California - Berkeley
University of California - San Diego
University of Central Florida
University of Chicago
University of Cincinnati
University of Florida
University of Colorado - Boulder
University of Hawaii - Manoa
University of Massachusetts - Lowell
University of Michigan
University of Nebraska - Omaha
University of North Dakota
University of Pittsburgh
University of Southern California
University of Southern Mississippi
University of Texas - Austin
University of Texas - Dallas
University of Virginia
University of West Florida
Washington University in St. Louis
Wichita State University
*Bold indicates a Spring 2024 University
The educator’s role
Giving students the experience of a real-world development environment
Rapidly iterate prototypes to produce solutions to operational needs in an extremely short time
Adapting Lean Methodology outside of the business context
Potentially transitioning teams into I-Corps, with a deep understanding of the problem and an ecosystem of advocates
Providing risk-mitigated connections to a pool of highly-qualified and engaged talent
Educator courses
To prepare university faculty to teach H4D, we host quarterly Educator Courses around the United States.
Participants work with experienced members of past teaching teams, interact with DoD problem sponsors, and meet former H4D students.
The courses provide the opportunity to:
Meet with other instructors & problem sponsors from across the United States
Learn how to set up H4D teaching teams and recruit student teams to participate
Learn what makes a good problem and how problem sponsors can increase their ROI for supporting the course
Engage directly with potential DoD problem sponsors
Engage directly with potential corporate mentors
Take the next step to bring Hacking for Defense to your University.
University of Duke Educator Team
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Bring H4D to your university
