DHS to launch fourth Hacking for Homeland Security program course

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) recently announced that the fourth Hacking for Homeland Security (H4HS) program course is slated for Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).

The course would be offered during the Spring 2022 semester at the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy.

The class would provide students with an opportunity to offer Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) solutions regarding reuniting families after a natural disaster, as well as explore more efficient Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security baggage checks for the flying public.

“H4HS taps into the energy and imagination of talented students to deliver forward-looking solutions to evolving security challenges facing the nation,” said Kathryn Coulter Mitchell, DHS Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary for Science and Technology. “We welcome the entrepreneurial approach that H4HS brings to our innovation needs, and we hope the experience will inspire students to join us on the mission, as partners, or future federal employees.”

S&T has collaborated with BMNT Inc., the Common Mission Project (CMP), and the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC) to offer the program, engaging engineering, business, and policy students from leading universities to address homeland security challenges.

“Providing meaningful and enriching learning experiences like the H4HS program is critical to the learning process,” said Randy Trzeciak, director of the Master of Science in Information Security Policy & Management Program at CMU’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy. “We’re excited to continue this relationship as it gives our students the opportunity to work with DHS to address challenging problems in the security domain.”