RFP for Minority Serving Institutions to join DASSH (Designing Actionable Solutions for a Secure Homeland) student design challenge

To ensure the Department of Homeland Security can continue to operate efficiently, it is imperative to maintain an active pipeline of new homeland security professionals. One of the most efficient ways to encourage college students to pursue careers within the homeland security enterprise is to expose them to real-world homeland security issues. To address this, two DHS Centers of Excellence, the Center for Accelerating Operational Efficiency (CAOE) at Arizona State University and Soft-Target Engineering to Neutralize the Threat Reality (SENTRY) Center at Northeastern University, will be hosting a design challenge/hackathon on the weekend of February 28- March 2, 2025. The three-day event will pair students with academic and industry mentors to solve real-world problem scenarios related to the effects of artificial intelligence on homeland security. While many hackathons focus primarily on coding challenges, this event emphasizes developing real-world solutions, regardless of the medium or approach.

In an effort to support the development of a diversified and inclusive workforce, and to ensure national access to this event, CAOE is sponsoring select minority-serving institution participation in the event. This funding opportunity aims to support participation in a national hackathon focused on addressing real-world homeland security challenges through innovative solutions. In order to qualify, interested faculty must be able to recruit a team of 3-6 members and be willing to coordinate the logistics and communication between the team and the hackathon leadership group.

Do you have questions about how to join DASSH student design challenge? Join us on November 6, 2024, at 11:00 AM MST for a Q&A session where CAOE Center leadership will be available to answer any and all questions they can regarding the DASSH RFP. Join via Microsoft Teams Meeting.

About the Event

  • The DASSH hackathon will take place from February 28 to March 2, 2025, offering students an immersive experience in solving real-world problem scenarios related to the impact of artificial intelligence on homeland security. Participants will work alongside academic and industry mentors, exploring solutions beyond coding challenges to tackle homeland security issues.
  • Faculty from minority-serving institutions are encouraged to apply for sponsorship to participate. Faculty must recruit a team of 3-6 members and coordinate logistics with the DASSH hackathon leadership.
  • A formal proposal review process will be conducted to select those for which a grant award will be offered.

Important Dates

  • Q&A Session: November 6, 2024, 11:00 AM MST: Q&A session: November 6 from 11:00 am (MST). Join via Microsoft Teams Meeting
  • RFP Submission Deadline: Friday, November 22, 2024, at 5:00 PM MST

All proposals must be submitted through the CAOE grant application portal.

For complete RFP guidelines and instructions, please visit the grant application portal: https://asu.infoready4.com/#competitionDetail/1953433

Specific questions about this request for proposals should be addressed in writing to Professor Ross Maciejewski, Director CAOE, or Anthony Kuhn, Associate Director of Education, CAOE at [email protected].