Newswise — WASHINGTON – The Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is working to hurry growth of options for our most urgent homeland safety challenges with the launch of an entrepreneurship program referred to as Hacking for Homeland Safety (H4HS). S&T identifies, develops, and adapts applied sciences to satisfy probably the most urgent wants of DHS elements and first responders. By means of innovation, and discovery and growth of recent, artistic concepts, S&T identifies efficient, recreation altering applied sciences to deal with homeland safety wants.
The H4HS pilot program is a partnership between S&T, BMNT Inc. and its nonprofit arm, the Frequent Mission Venture (CMP), together with DHS elements Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and Transportation Security Agency (TSA). By means of this community, the pilot goals to help real-world DHS element issues and alternatives.
This system is modeled on Hacking for Protection® (H4D). The nationwide educational course is taught at 54 universities and represents a brand new platform for nationwide service, educating groups of college college students use fashionable entrepreneurial instruments and methods to unravel essential nationwide safety and intelligence group issues at start-up pace. H4HS will present DHS with the distinctive functionality to drive progressive options and establish future interns with utilized information to work on DHS mission-relevant subjects.
H4HS will add worth throughout the DHS enterprise, for taking part college applications, and for college students who enroll within the programs. The programs will complement current analysis applications and supply college students entry to a various group of homeland-security-minded technical specialists and enterprise mentors who will work collectively to develop focused instruments, applied sciences, and information merchandise to be used throughout the homeland safety enterprise.
“The H4HS Program might be a chance for S&T and DHS elements to check a singular innovation program targeted on reframing issues and growing distinctive options,” mentioned Megan Mahle, S&T’s director of Business Partnerships. “This can present an creative setting tailor-made to validate DHS essential issues with minimal funding.”
The primary H4HS course is being held on the Colorado Faculty of Mines, a college with demonstrated success in H4D. “This pilot focuses on emergency management-related issues in help of FEMA Area VIII, headquartered in Denver, and aligns with the Faculty of Mines’ studying targets,” mentioned Sid Saleh, affiliate director, McNeil Heart for Entrepreneurship & Innovation and teacher of the Mines’ H4HS class.
“Our succesful engineers search alternatives to use their studying and creativity in the actual world. They’re very motivated and pushed to serve the next function: to make somebody’s life higher. They wish to do good with their information and abilities. We assist them maximize and scale their affect,” mentioned Saleh.
Over the course of the semester, undergraduate and graduate scholar groups are working to create and ship progressive options in response to challenges FEMA frequently faces. These essential points vary from predicting wildfire threat and general forest well being to enhancing the FEMA direct housing applications and discovering methods to supply emergency microgrid energy options. College students will collaborate with native, state, and federal professionals, then pitch their options to subject material specialists and senior FEMA management.
“Hacking for Homeland is one more approach FEMA is harnessing innovation to deal with among the most tough challenges in emergency administration,” mentioned regional administrator Lee dePalo. “Working with our companions on the Colorado Faculty of Mines, we are going to discover new methods to make America safer, stronger, and safer.”
“This class permits us to unravel a extra various set of nationwide safety challenges and assist us obtain our mission of inspiring a brand new era of entrepreneurs who wish to make the world a greater place,” Alex Gallo, CMP government director, mentioned.
College students at H4HS universities will develop a deep understanding of the issues and wishes of presidency sponsors in DHS, study entrepreneurship, and acquire real-world problem-solving expertise. The following H4HS course might be supplied throughout the Spring 2021 semester in help of CISA.
“This spring we’re wanting ahead to CISA’s first entrepreneurship class at Carnegie Mellon College,” mentioned Sabra Horne, the chief of CISA’s Innovation Hub, ”Our class will have interaction college students on a spread of mission challenges in cybersecurity and coverage, from securing software program and community programs to creating safety and privateness extra usable so we are able to defend in opposition to at present’s threats whereas constructing a safer and resilient future.”
For extra info on S&T’s innovation applications and instruments, go to https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/work-with-st.
