National Security Innovation Challenge · Kickoff Recap
Sept 25, 2026 · IDEA Center, Room 109
The kickoff is in the books, and teams are already at work on real national security problems. Missed it? You're early, not late. You can still join a team.
Join a TeamCadets, veterans, engineers, MBAs, pre-med students, and the simply curious filled the room for an evening of problem pitches. Leaders from the military, the intelligence community, and industry laid out the challenges they care most about, and students stepped up to pitch ideas of their own.
Sept 25. Problems pitched, teams started forming.
You are here. Teams are talking to the people closest to each problem to find what's really going on.
Hands-on workshops and a Startup Coach help each team narrow in on the root cause and build a solution. Dates coming soon.
Nov 13. Teams present their work at a national security conference at Mendoza.
Teams are still in the listening phase, so nobody has a head start you can't catch. You don't need an idea, a team, or a technical background. Teams need engineers and coders, but also business minds, health-focused students, policy thinkers, and anyone who's curious.
Fill out the short form below. We'll send you the list of teams and how to connect with the one that fits you.
Every team gets a Startup Coach and the chance to practice at Friday Pitches before Demo Day.
Awarded to the top challenge team at Demo Day.
The work you do here can be the start of a McCloskey application. A Startup Coach will walk interested teams through what it takes to apply to Notre Dame's largest venture prize pool.
Tell us who you are, and we'll get you connected.