H4X Training’s Innovation LaunchPoint, BMNT’s program designed to bring Silicon Valley innovation methods to all innovators, is expanding, and infusing valuable skills onto new college campuses. Registration for the Innovation LaunchPoint program offered in collaboration with BMNT is under way at Cochise College for the Spring 2024 term, a first for the school, which is a member of the Team Huachuca Strategic Plan, supporting the Cochise County military community.
All students at the college, including Service Members from all branches, will now have the opportunity to take the for-credit academic program that changes how real-world problems are solved. Tuition assistance funding is accepted to enroll in the courses.
Based on the proven Hacking for Defense curriculum, Innovation LaunchPoint (ILP) equips students with the skills to problem solve through ingenuity and innovation, using the same methods taught to future innovators and entrepreneurs at some of the most prestigious colleges around the country and beyond. This skillset is particularly valuable to the U.S Department of Defense as it grapples with stagnating challenges and increasingly hostile conflicts erupting globally. The belief that brilliant, inventive “Magyvers” exist already within the military’s own ranks is the driving force behind bringing this education into their hands. The goal is to give everyone the access to the same innovation concepts taught at America’s leading universities.
The mission to connect service members with a top-tier innovation education directly upholds Fort Huachuca’s Strategic Plan to improve modernization within the U.S. Army. Dr. James Perey, Ed.D., Executive Vice President for Academics at Cochise College, echoed this sentiment, explaining the administration’s decision to incorporate Innovation LaunchPoint into its curriculum.
“In support of Fort Huachuca's Strategic Plan, Cochise College is proud to offer Innovation LaunchPoint courses in an attempt to create an innovation system and culture within our community. We believe the program will help solve challenging problems at scale through collaboration, ideation, events, and support for rapid prototyping and iterative development,” he said.
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Cochise College and other Universities around the country are turning to Hacking for X Training’s ILP as a way to introduce students and members of the public sector to the principles of modern innovation practices, understanding that every participant has the capacity to be a part of maturing unique ideas. As Cochise College’s administration explained in adopting the program, this mindset is fundamental to a culture of innovation.
“Senior leaders across the public sector and the Department of Defense have charged employees with introducing innovative industry business practices toward the effect of solving problems and developing capabilities. The reason for this is simple: speed. Successfully trained innovators and entrepreneurs already embedded within the workforce are the most poised to accurately define gaps and opportunities, then rapidly experiment to find solutions. Achieving future goals will require a workforce that can apply these same skills, and Cochise is investing in that future,” explained Robyn Martin, Assistant Dean, Marketing, Communications & Advancement Cochise College.
The class qualifies for Tuition Assistance or Veterans Administration funding like the GI Bill or Veteran Readiness and Employment.
About Cochise College
Cochise College is a two-year public Community College offering over 90 degrees and technical certificates, including an honors curriculum. The school is a member of the Team Huachuca Strategic Plan, supporting the Cochise County military community, and adapts and expands its learning opportunities to meet the dynamic needs of its student body. Its mission within the strategic plan is to build leaders, drive change and inform. The leadership believes ILP will help the school advance modernization and solve mission-specific challenges through collaboration, ideation and rapid prototyping.
About the ILP Course Program:
The Innovation LaunchPoint program consists of four 8-week, 1-credit hour, self-paced courses that lead to the Innovation LaunchPoint certificate. They can also be taken as independent elective credit hours. The ILP courses are designed to empower and develop Soldier and Civilian-centered innovation to increase readiness, relevance, and modernization throughout military and civilian organizations.
The four Innovation LaunchPoint courses are:
- Innovation LaunchPoint 101 (ILP 101) Product Market Fit (1 Credit Hour): Have you ever wanted to know how companies make decisions about which products consumers will buy? The Product Market Fit course helps students apply the innovation concept of ‘desirability’ as it first applies to the psychology of individual buying decisions and then the sociological trends of market segments. This course is part of the Innovation LaunchPoint program which teaches emerging entrepreneurs the fundamentals of new product management and new process management.
- Innovation LaunchPoint 102 (ILP 102) Innovation Theories (1 Credit Hour): If you want to help design the future, you need to first understand the past that led us here. The Innovation Theories course helps students understand the history of innovation. Students learn the management principles associated with the prominent innovation theories of the 20th and 21st centuries. This course is part of the Innovation LaunchPoint program which teaches emerging entrepreneurs the fundamentals of new product management and new process management.
- Innovation LaunchPoint 103 (ILP 103) Lean Experimentation (1 Credit Hour): New products are developed at speeds never before thought possible because modern businesses understand the key to rapid development – experimentation. The Lean Experimentation course helps students apply social science experimentation methods to test various aspects of business models. This course is part of the Innovation LaunchPoint program which teaches emerging entrepreneurs the fundamentals of new product management and new process management.
- Innovation LaunchPoint 104 (ILP 104) Defense Acquisition (1 Credit Hour): The Defense Acquisition course helps students recognize the governmental statutes, regulations and process required by the U.S. Defense Acquisition System. Students are able to identify the resourcing, requirements, and acquisition management systems for follow-on applications. This course is part of the Innovation LaunchPoint program which teaches emerging entrepreneurs the fundamentals of new product management and new process management.
Cochise College will offer ILP 101 and ILP 102 during the Spring I 2024 term, Jan. 16-March 8, 2024. Cochise College will offer ILP 103 and ILP 104 during the Spring II 2024 term, March 18 -May 14, 2024.
To Register: Contact the Cochise College Military Advisor Team at fthuachuca@cochise.edu or call the College at 520-533-2391, and visit the Cochise College Innovation LaunchPoint website at https://www.cochise.edu/innovation-launchpoint/
