In a high-stakes, "Shark Tank"-style showdown designed to revolutionize the nation’s cyber workforce, three elite universities emerged victorious as the Department of War (DoW) Chief Information Officer (CIO) unveiled the winners of the Aligned Skills Curriculum and Experiential Network Design (ASCEND) challenge. Serving as the explosive capstone to the annual Centers of Academic Excellence (CAE) in Cybersecurity Community Symposium on May 1, the finale convened over 600 premier leaders from academia, government, and industry. Driven by an urgent mandate from DoW leadership to "Get Involved," the symposium challenged nearly 500 participating institutions to forge the future of U.S. cyber supremacy. As the cornerstone of this strategic initiative, the ASCEND competition creates an aggressive fast track to pioneer agile, cutting-edge educational models for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity.

"The collaborative energy of this symposium and the innovative spirit of the ASCEND challenge are critical to securing America's technological advantage, “stated Hon. Kirsten Davies.

A "Shark Tank" for National Security

Moving away from traditionally lengthy curriculum development timelines, the ASCEND challenge sourced innovative designs from a pool of more than 60 applicants. The competition culminated in a live finale where five finalist teams pitched their unique educational frameworks to a panel of DoW experts.

The following three winners were awarded a $1,000 cash prize, and their models will now serve as the blueprint for a formal DoW solicitation to build scalable learning frameworks deliverable through academic institutions nationwide:

• Holly Yuan and Brandon Cross, University of Wisconsin-Stout
• Brian Scavotto, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
• Amith Kamath Belman, San Jose State University

Congratulations are also for the two other finalist teams: the University of Maine at Augusta and Anderson University.

From Collaboration to Capability

The ASCEND finale punctuated a symposium defined by a historic shift in national security education, as DoW leadership challenged representatives from almost 500 National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) to urgently "Get Involved" and collaborate across the Cyber Defense, Operations, Research, and AI communities. Because there is no replacing a critically thinking, well-trained, and decisive operator, these NCAE-C institutions—recognized for meeting rigorous standards in cyber curricula, research, and technical expertise—serve as the absolute bedrock of this effort. By empowering these academic partners through strategic initiatives like ASCEND, the DoW ensures they are equipped to directly shape the future of national defense, harnessing the collaborative energy of the symposium to deliver on the President's vision of "peace through strength" and secure America's technological advantage for generations to come.

Please direct any questions to Pentagon Press Operations: osd.pa.dutyofficer@mail.mil.