The NSIN X-Force Fellowship is a summer internship program providing undergraduate, graduate students, and recent college graduates a chance to serve their country by solving real-world national security problems in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense.

Fellows in the 2022 cohort of the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN) X-Force Fellowship presented their final solutions to military commands last week in a concluding demonstration day.

As the Department of Defense (DoD) is innovating new ways to compete with private industry to attract top talent into its workforce, the X-Force Fellowship offered students an opportunity to work with the military and experience jobs in the defense innovation sector before they graduate.

NSIN X-Force Fellows supported DoD mission partners across all branches of service by applying diverse skill sets to 56 challenging, real-time national security projects. By building relationships between students and service members over the summer, the DoD received ideas and solutions created in the fellowship.

“The two [X-Force] students exceeded all expectations to the point that the principal investigators are looking to extend research opportunities, scholarships, and even future jobs within the Missouri Institute for Defense & Energy,” said Jesse Beaudin, Director of Research & Institute Programs at Missouri Institute for Defense & Energy.

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This summer’s cohort featured 139 Fellows from 66 universities providing top tech talent to the DoD as they collaborated with the military and gained professional experience in the defense innovation sector. Each week, students met with their military partners to identify pain points and better understand how to create feasible solutions for the DoD. Students also attended a weekly speaker series where they heard from professionals with experience in the public and private sector supporting the National Security Innovation Base.

“Henry, our X-Force Fellow, far exceeded my expectations,” said Capt. Dori McClelland, Missouri Army National Guard. “The work he put into this project was incredible. His weekly reports, two Demo presentations, and his stakeholder presentation was excellent. He is working on a close out report for his final deliverable. He truly is a professional and his work ethic sets him high above his peers.”

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About NSIN

NSIN is a program of the U.S. Department of Defense that collaborates with major universities and the venture community to develop solutions that drive national security innovation. We operate three portfolios of programs and services: National Service, Collaboration, and Acceleration. Together, these portfolios form a pipeline of activities and solutions that accelerate the pace of defense innovation.