{"id":170161,"date":"2022-12-08T16:17:27","date_gmt":"2022-12-09T02:17:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=170161"},"modified":"2022-12-12T16:38:36","modified_gmt":"2022-12-13T02:38:36","slug":"department-of-defense-student-innovations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2022\/12\/08\/department-of-defense-student-innovations\/","title":{"rendered":"Student innovations could help Department of Defense decrease injury, death"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Students presented their projects at a celebration at Schofield Barracks on December 7.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> students have developed innovative and viable solutions to address critical problems facing the Department of Defense (DoD<\/abbr>), ranging from decreasing injury and death during rescue missions to improving aircraft and personnel operations. They delivered presentations on campus and at Schofield Barracks on December 7.<\/p>\n

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Students presented their projects at an event at Schofield Barracks on December 7. Students pose for a photo with military sponsors and mentors.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The projects were created through semester-long UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa courses developed as part of the fall 2022 DoD<\/abbr>\u2019s National Security Innovation Network\u2019s (NSIN<\/abbr>) Hacking for Defense® (H4D<\/abbr>™) and Capstone program. Multidisciplinary student teams from UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s College of Engineering<\/a>, College of Natural Sciences<\/a> and Shidler College of Business<\/a> learned and applied entrepreneurial skills while working with the DoD<\/abbr> to identify and develop viable products and early-stage prototypes.<\/p>\n

Since launching the H4D<\/abbr>™ program at UH<\/abbr> in spring 2021, 47 students have participated in H4D<\/abbr>™, and six have obtained internships with NSIN<\/abbr>, Booz Allen Hamilton and other companies. Fifty students have participated in Capstone since the fall 2020 semester, and five have attributed securing internships or jobs as a result. <\/p>\n

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Students presented their projects at an event at Schofield Barracks on December 7. Students pose for a photo with military sponsors and mentors.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Our partnership with NSIN<\/abbr> helps to strengthen the university\u2019s relationship with the DoD<\/abbr> and increases the number of opportunities to collaborate with them,” said Vassilis L. Syrmos<\/strong>, UH<\/abbr> vice president for research and innovation. “NSIN<\/abbr>\u2019s programs provide invaluable expertise and experiences for our students and faculty to gain real-world innovation and entrepreneurship training, while also providing career and business opportunities to the teams.”<\/p>\n

Throughout NSIN<\/abbr>\u2019s H4D<\/abbr>™ and Capstone courses, participants learn and apply the Lean Startup methodology to develop business and mission model canvases; discover and validate customer needs; and apply agile engineering in building and testing iterative prototypes.<\/p>\n

“The challenge of having to work in multidisciplinary teams while navigating the DoD<\/abbr>\u2019s complex process requires discipline, and it also provides incredible workforce development and training opportunities not just for our Â鶹´«Ã½students and faculty, but the soldiers working on the projects as well,” said Gloria Choo<\/strong>, UH<\/abbr> NSIN<\/abbr> regional engagement principal. “Participants have mentioned that the program has really helped with their communications and presentation skills as well as how they approach problem solving.”<\/p>\n

Fall 2022 H4D<\/abbr>™ projects:<\/h2>\n
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Students tour a military helicopter at Schofield Barracks.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n