Announcement of the Joint MCU-NPS AI Learning Initiatives Hackathon

1. Purpose. To announce the joint Marine Corps
University (MCU) and Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) "AI Learning
Initiatives Hackathon." This initiative will harness Artificial
Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to solve critical
educational, administrative, and training challenges across the
defense education enterprise. 
2. Background. Modern military training and education must adapt to 
the rapidly evolving character of war. The integration of advanced 
technologies like AI/ML is a present warfighting and educational 
imperative. MCU and NPS are partnering to host this event, 
leveraging  NPS's world-class technical expertise and
MCU's deep operational insights within the Professional Military
Education (PME) framework. This Hackathon will bring together end-
users and technical experts to develop functional software
prototypes, accelerate data-enabled processes, improve learner
outcomes, and build critical AI literacy. 
3. Mission. From 15 to 18 September 2026, MCU and NPS will conduct 
a Hackathon to develop scalable, operationally relevant solutions to 
high-impact education and training use cases across the 
Marine Corps. 
4. Commander's Intent. Generate practical, scalable solutions to 
education and training mission-focused operational challenges 
while accelerating the Marine Corps' ability to integrate AI-enabled 
capabilities into systems and operations. 
4.a. Objectives. Hackers will develop prototype solutions addressing 
operationally relevant use cases, including but not limited to the 
following: 
4.a.1. Personalized Learning: Adaptive curricula, individualized 
feedback, and tailored learning paths. 
4.a.2. Simulation and Virtual Training: Enhancing
realism and effectiveness in training simulations. 
4.a.3. Performance Assessment: Objective evaluation of skills, 
knowledge assessment, and decision-making. 
4.a.4. Content Generation: Automating the creation
of training scenarios, curricula, and knowledge bases. 
4.a.5. Operational Support: Just-in-time learning, administrative 
support, and data analysis. 
4.a.6. Wargaming: Execution of wargaming as part of training and 
education initiatives and evaluation of learning and decision-making 
through wargaming. 
4.a.7. Use cases are not limited to those mentioned above but will 
include select submissions from the registered population that 
demonstrate the highest operational value.
4.b. Concept of Operations. The Hackathon will be conducted over four
days in conjunction with the MCeLE Virtual Workshop. 
4.b.1. 15 Sep 26: Opening remarks, event overview, use case 
familiarization, team formation, and tool presentations 
(in person at MCU; virtual at NPS).
4.b.2. 16-17 Sep 26: Team-based development and prototyping of
selected use cases. 
4.b.3. 18 Sep 26: Final presentations, judging, and recognition of 
top-performing teams. 
4.b.4. A detailed schedule, location information, and additional 
requirements will be provided to confirmed participants. 
4.c. Tasks. Participants will apply under one of the following 
categories: 
4.c.1. Hacker: Responsible for developing and prototyping solutions. 
Preferred backgrounds include artificial intelligence, machine 
learning,  data science, data engineering, software development, 
or related  technical fields.
4.c.2. Subject Matter Expert: Responsible for defining use cases,
providing operational context, and guiding solution development.
4.c.3. Support: Provides administrative and logistical support to
facilitate event execution. 
4.c.4. Selected participants submitting use cases and/or associated 
datasets will coordinate directly with the Hackathon planning team 
to transition the approved data and problem statements onto the 
authorized platform prior to execution.
4.d. Coordinating Instructions. The Hackathon will be held from 15 
to 18 September 2026 at the Marine Corps University and Naval
Postgraduate School. Marines, government civilians, sister-service,
industry, and academic partners interested in participating may
submit applications at: 
https://meeting.mcele.usmc.mil/e5ejwa8j6f0k/event/event_info.html  
4.d.1. The application deadline is 2359, 14 August 2026. 
4.d.2. All prospective participants must be prepared to participate 
in one of the two in-person locations (MCU/EDCOM or NPS). 
5. Administration and Logistics.
5.a. Funding. Temporary Additional Duty (TAD/TDY) funding and travel
coordination are the responsibility of the participant's parent
command or organization. 
5.b. Security. The Hackathon will be conducted at the UNCLASSIFIED 
level. 
5.c. Awards and Recognition. Awards associated with this event 
are non-monetary and non-binding in nature. Participation and 
recognition do not constitute a contractual agreement, 
financial obligation, or endorsement by the Marine Corps or the 
Department of Defense. 
5.d. Applicants approved for participation will be notified no 
later than 21 August 2026 via email and be provided with additional 
information. 
6. Release authorized by Brigadier General M. W. Tracy, 
President, Marine Corps University.