Cybersecurity“Hacking for Defense” class an example of Stanford’s relationship with the U.S. military

Published 13 December 2017

Alongside all the tech companies and consulting firms present at career fairs, Stanford students looking for employment are likely to encounter another major industry when talking to recruiters: the defense sector. Although anti-war activism in the Vietnam era severed many of the university’s ties with the U.S. military, the relationship between the two has seen a revival over the years, and national security and defense institutions are more visible on campus now than they were just a decade ago. A relatively new class, MS&E 297, adds yet another wrinkle to that ongoing narrative – and one that not everyone is happy about.

Alongside all the tech companies and consulting firms present at career fairs, Stanford students looking for employment are likely to encounter another major industry when talking to recruiters: the defense sector.

Although anti-war activism in the Vietnam era severed many of the university’s ties with the U.S. military, the relationship between the two has seen a revival over the years. The Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (ROTC), for instance, returned to Stanford in 2013 after a 45-year hiatus. A ban on on-campus recruiting was similarly lifted in 2011. As a result, national security and defense institutions are more visible on campus now than they were just a decade ago.

A relatively new class, MS&E 297, adds yet another wrinkle to that ongoing narrative – and one that not everyone is happy about.

Hacking the defense industry

Named “Hacking for Defense: Solving National Security issues with the Lean Launchpad,” MS&E 297 pairs Stanford students with partners in the military or adjacent industries, building a relationship between the two meant to produce innovative technology solutions to defense issues.

Stanford says that the class, based on the “lean startup” model, which emphasizes an iterative process of need-finding and problem-solving, the class seeks to apply Silicon Valley entrepreneurship to military-industrial contexts.

Small teams of students “take a hands-on approach requiring close engagement with actual military, Department of Defense and other government agency end-users,” the ExploreCourses class listing explains.

First offered in spring 2016 and then repeated a year later, “Hacking for Defense” was founded by three men intent on bringing together the dual cultures of tech startups and the military: Joe Felter, a Pentagon advisor-cum-Hoover Institution researcher; Peter Newell, a former colonel involved in government consulting; and Steve Blank, a Stanford professor and eight-time startup founder whose work paved the way for the “lean startup” methodology.

Using their combined connections in Stanford, the military and the tech industry, the trio launched the class within a year of its conception.