2023 HAFB Innovation Days set for May 22-25

  • Published
  • By Richard Essary
  • 75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

Registration is now open for the 2023 HAFB Innovation Days at Hill Air Force Base.

Hill is partnering with industry and government stakeholders for its first innovation days event May 22-25.

The event will feature training sessions, speakers and panels designed to help participants navigate the innovation ecosystem and work together to solve Department of the Air Force problems.

“This inaugural event is a critical first step towards building Hill Air Force Base’s innovation culture,” said 1st Lt. Connor Stevens, 75th Air Base Wing Innovation Office. “The team leveraged the voice of the innovator to curate a line-up of activities that will bring highly requested subject matter directly to Team Hill personnel.”

Also featured will be a tech expo to provide participants an opportunity to network with dozens of top companies and check out the latest in today’s technology and innovations.

At the end of the week, the Hill AFB Spark Tank competition winners will be selected after presenting their innovative ideas along with other top submissions from around the installation.

“The event is open to all of Team Hill and we look forward to everyone coming together for the first-ever Spark Tank,” Stevens said. “We want everyone to be a part of this unique opportunity as Airmen pitch directly to wing leadership and work to solve the biggest issues facing our installation and mission partners.”

Event schedule

May 22 (1 p.m.)
Base Theater

This Innovation Days kick-off event will feature Microsoft experts, who will give an in-depth overview of the Microsoft Power Platform and detail resources and capabilities available to the Defense Department employees. By understanding the possibilities and potential of the platform, attendees will be able to drive innovative by streamlining tasks in the workplace. This session will include a question and answer session with the Microsoft team.

May 23 (9 a.m.-4 p.m.)
The Landing (Wasatch Room)

Smart leaders know that in order to increase productivity and innovation they must get everyone fully engaged. The challenge is, how. During this session, participants will be introduced to Liberating Structures training, which will provide practical and no-nonsense methods for accomplishing this goal with groups of any size.

May 23-May 25 (8 a.m.-3 p.m.)
Building 1581 (2nd Floor)

Full-day, hands-on Microsoft Power Platform workshops will repeat each day. Attendees can register for one session or come back each day to learn about all three platforms.

Power Apps: Learn about the essential “building blocks” of a Power App. Attendees will discover what's possible in the DOD IL 5 environment and learn how each “block” or component fits together while building an app.

Power BI: Learn how to connect to a data source (e.g., Excel spreadsheet) and create visual analytics and interactive insights for data. Using carefully curated examples, workshop participants will experience firsthand how to create powerful reports and dashboards in just minutes.

Power Automate: Find out how Power Automate combines the entire Power Platform and Microsoft 365 ecosystem to connect data and processes. Experts will show participants how to get there with Defense Department-specific examples.

May 24 (9 a.m.-4 p.m.)
The Landing

Breakouts Sessions: Several breakout sessions on innovation will be facilitated throughout the day and will include such courses as “How to build a spark cell,” “Collaboration made easy,” and “Thinking outside the inbox,” just to name a few.

Hill Tech Expo: A tech expo will be held from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Demystifying SBIR and STTR: A special briefing will be held at 1:15 p.m. at The Landing (Bingo Room) on the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs. During the session, Linda Cabrales, Utah Innovation Center, will speak on “Demystifying SBIR and STTR” and explain how these federal programs fund small business research and development, as well as how DoD organizations can leverage them.

May 25 - Spark Tank (9 a.m.-1 p.m.)
Industry Days will culminate with the Hill AFB Spark Tank competition where a panel of judges will choose innovative ideas for funding. Earlier this year, service members and federal civilians from across the base were invited to submit their ideas to the Hill AFB Spark Tank, an Air Force program designed to encourage innovative solutions to operational problems within work centers.

For more information or to register, visit the 2023 HAFB Innovation Days SharePoint site from a Common Access Card-enabled device.