Innovation for Alaska and the Arctic training - Fall 2026 Class
May 29, 2026
This class is a premier interdisciplinary offering at the Â鶹Դ´. Run in close alignment with the Â鶹Դ´F Center for Innovation and the RISE-UP, or Regional Innovation by Scaling Entrepreneurship via University Partnerships Program initiative, this class flips the script on traditional academic lectures. Rather than reading case studies, students are dropped into real-world, high-stakes sandbox environments to solve active problems facing the Arctic.
- Undergraduate Level: BA 476 / HSEM 476
- Graduate Level: MBA 676 / HSEM 676
- Instructor: Prof. Peter Webley, Research Professor; Director of the Â鶹Դ´F Center for Innovation; National Academy of Inventors Senior Fellow
The class is cross-listed across multiple departments to attract diverse mindsets — combining business acumen with emergency management, science, engineering and national security strategies. The course functions more like an incubator or defense innovation sprint than a standard seminar.
- Hypothesis Testing: Students are provided with a framework to test solutions using a lean startup model. They build skills to ideate, pivot and adapt their potential solutions based on real market feedback and data gathered from potential groups.
- Direct Stakeholder Engagement: Teams take a hands-on approach, requiring them to actively interview and engage with end-users, including local community members, indigenous groups, remote researchers and government agencies.
- Defense & Industry Collaboration: A major component includes interfacing directly with defense operators and military installations across Alaska as well as others who may face the same challenges and issues.
Real-World Problem Sets Tackled by Students: Instead of hypothetical assignments, Prof. Webley coordinates with local industries and federal agencies to source active, mission-critical problems. Past student cohorts have tackled challenges such as:
- Autonomous vessels: Dual-use company, , based in Rhode Island, exploring opportunities for Alaskan deployment. Assessing how high-speed, all-electric or hybrid ground-effect vessels could be utilized for cargo transit, passenger travel, medivac, Coast Guard and defense logistics across Alaska's coastal and littoral zones.
- Next-Generation Arctic Flight Suits: Assessing extreme-cold flight suits that maintain insulation without sacrificing mobility or dexterity during emergency survival scenarios.
- Heavy Lift Terrestrial Platforms: Investigating how logistics teams can safely deploy massive tactical equipment over remote locations while ensuring continued operations.
Who Is This Class For?: Prof. Webley explicitly designs this course for students who want their academic work to turn into real-world impact. It is heavily populated by:
- Engineers & Scientists wanting to commercialize their research or build custom field equipment.
- Business & MBA Students looking to understand research applications, deep-tech startups and venture validation.
- Homeland Security & Emergency Management Students focusing on tactical Arctic security, disaster response and logistics.
Pro-Tip for Students: Taking this course is an excellent stepping stone if you want to apply for the Center for Innovation's RISE-UP Graduate Entrepreneurial Fellowships or enter the annual Arctic Innovation Competition, as it introduces you to the innovative customer discovery work required to win prize money and grant funding.
How do I find out more? To get connected with Professor Webley and spring semester projects, sign up at . For more information: email pwwebley@alaska.edu with subject “Fall 2026 - Innovation for Alaska and the Arctic class‘