From Software to Solutions: How H4MoD Students Tackled a Military Challenge with Real-World Insights from the Air Ambulance
As part of the H4MoD module, a unique learning experience for final year undergraduate or postgraduate students, we offer the opportunity to work on real-world problems faced by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and develop innovative solutions. During the Autumn cohort of 2022, a team of five computing students from Portsmouth University took up the challenge of identifying optimal helicopter landing spots for Army personnel.
The problem statement provided to the team set out the challenge: frontline aircrews require a way to identify optimal helicopter landing sites on missions against known helicopter type sizes to minimise risks when landing in unknown locations and better support time-critical helicopter missions going forward.
Over a ten-week sprint and conducting more than 40 interviews, students used their computer science and software engineering backgrounds to devise a software system that efficiently identifies safe landing zones.
Testing their hypothesis and gaining a fresh perspective
The student team decided to use CMP's Impact Fund to "get out of the building”. They organised a site visit to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight (IoW) Air Ambulance, located in Thruxton Airfield.
Conversations with the Air Ambulance prompted the all-important pivot moment: the team needed to amend their initial solution idea (or, MVP) from a physical device that could be fitted onto a helicopter, into a software solution. This critical turning point was a realisation that the beneficiary was not the pilots themselves but rather the data analysts on the ground. Additionally students were able to draw insight from the software based process utilised by Hampshire and IoW Air Ambulance which enhanced the evidence behind their solution and aided a seamless way for the Army to embrace ideas from outside of their silo.
Three key takeaways
Getting out of the building was crucial to their discovery, aided by our ability to provide funding for the students' experience away from the classroom.
Students embraced the pivot to adapt a solution that worked for the right beneficiary.
Collecting fresh perspectives from interviews and a site visit from an organisation not linked to the MoD proved a valuable external insight.
“H4MoD enabled us to think outside the box, learn from real-world experiences, and gain valuable insights that help our team tackle this complex problem effectively.”
Mission-driven careers inspired by H4MoD
Since completing H4MoD, one member of the team (Liam Varney, quoted above) has started his mission-driven career with us at CMP as an intern, and he’s also been offered a postgraduate position at a cybersecurity firm involved with military helicopters. Tackling this problem during the H4MoD course helped Liam demonstrate his knowledge in this area during the application and subsequent interview.
Equipping the next generation of leaders to solve critical challenges
We are proud to have inspired and equipped the students to create a win-win situation for everyone involved in the project. As the students gain valuable experience, the military receives, fresh thinking and an innovative solution to their problem.