Hacking for Defense is a university course sponsored by the Department of Defense that teaches students to work with the Defense and Intelligence Communities to rapidly address the nation’s emerging threats and security challenges.
It is a program powered by BMNT, Inc. and the Common Mission Project.
Real results. Real impact.
For universities, it keeps their programs attached to real-world problems and provides students with an experiential opportunity to become more effective in their chosen field, with a body of work to back it up.
For the DoD and IC, it allows problem sponsors to increase the speed at which their organization solves specific, mission-critical problems.
| 850 | Problems Addressed |
| 3,750+ | Participating Students |
| 66 | Participating Universities |
| 62 | Startups Formed |
See what people are saying about the Hacking for Defense program at Stanford University:
Stanford University students learn the “Lean Launchpad” approach to entrepreneurship while working on technological solutions for highly complex challenges facing the national defense and intelligence sectors. The course, MS&E 297, is taught by Steve Blank and other faculty affiliated with the Stanford Technology Ventures Program, the entrepreneurship center in the School of Engineering’s Department of Management Science & Engineering.
“Today if college students want to give back to their country they think of Teach for America, the Peace Corps, or Americorps. Few consider opportunities to make the world safer with the Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, and other government agencies.
The Hacking for Defense class will promote engagement between students and the military and provide a hands-on opportunity to solve real national security problems.”
The H4D Ecosystem
Participating Universities
Student Success Stories
Learn more about the discoveries, innovations and companies that emerge from each semester of Hacking for Defense on our Student Success Stories page.
A student team presents during a Hacking for Defense class.
Ready to get involved?
Contact us to learn how you can sponsor a problem, bring H4D to your university, or become a corporate sponsor.