New, Free AI Course by SCSP: Integrate AI into National Security Missions
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Hello, I’m Ylli Bajraktari, CEO of the Special Competitive Studies Project. In this edition of SCSP’s newsletter, we are pleased to announce we have launched an exciting new course for national security professionals in partnership with Coursera!
📢 Announcing a First-of-Its-Kind Course
Our latest Memo to the President on Talent lays out the urgent talent and workforce issues facing the government, and more importantly, provides concrete recommendations for action. And to put those words into immediate practice, we're thrilled to announce the launch of our free Coursera course, designed to directly integrate AI expertise into public sector missions.
We are proud to announce that, in partnership with Coursera, SCSP has designed a free, asynchronous online course “AI in National Security: Integrating Artificial Intelligence into Public Sector Missions” to help learners become AI-ready and integrate AI into their day-to-day work. This course focuses on giving public sector employees—especially those in national security—tactical applications and practical examples of how AI tools can be helpful for effectively completing workflows. This national security use case-driven course gets straight to the point helping time-constrained learners upskill and retool in a time where those skills are essential.
Our original lessons feature a range of senior leaders in technology and national security—including Dr. Eric Schmidt, Dr. Andrew Ng, Ylli Bajraktari, and Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan (ret.)—that both demo these tools and explain their importance in operations today. The instructors break down the complexities of AI, explaining not only how it works but also how it can be practically applied in various professional settings. They provide hands-on training through interactive examples, structured worksheet exercises, and real-world case studies—such as Project Maven and the use of AI in open source intelligence operations—that enable learners to safely and effectively experiment with AI tools. These exercises are designed to simulate actual scenarios across a broad spectrum of career fields, ensuring that participants gain both conceptual understanding and practical experience. By the end of the course, learners are not only proficient in leveraging AI to enhance efficiency, but they are also prepared to drive innovation and transform their work environments.
Launching the Course
The course officially went live at an event with guests from the government, private sector, and academia joining in to see a live demonstration of the course. Ylli Bajraktari and Coursera’s Chief Content Officer, Marni Baker Stein, provided opening remarks. Speaking from both the national security and educational perspectives, they emphasized the importance and uniqueness of this course at this moment in time. AI is a game-changer, but for many learners who have not had previous exposure, it can be a challenge understanding where to start to upskill and gain tools, especially if their organization does not offer such training. This course fills a necessary gap.
Lt. Gen Brian Eifler, Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel of the United States Army (G-1) provided a keynote address, noting that the Army is taking important steps to integrate and leverage AI, but that lifelong learning—particularly for leaders—is the best way to fully enjoy all the advantages that technology has to offer. He stressed that leaders today need to learn new skills in order to keep up with pacing threats as technologies like AI are changing the character of warfare.
Attendees then had a chance to experience the course, starting with a video that covered highlights of the course. Colleen Malloy, Senior Strategic Business Development Manager of Coursera, followed with a live demonstration, focusing on how the four modules build on one another. She emphasized that the course is designed to be quick and to the point to help the busy learner.
In a panel discussion, SCSP’s PJ Maykish and Coursera’s Head of Public Sector, Sam Combs, discussed how their backgrounds in national security and education had shaped their views on integrating AI into operational strategies. They emphasized the urgency of continuous upskilling, noting that AI must be approached as scalable, stackable, and specific—and that partnerships like the one between SCSP and Coursera as well as public-private partnerships are essential for safe implementation. Both concluded by urging the audience to embrace ongoing learning and collaboration amid rapid technological change.
Anyone can enroll in this free course, 150 people already have! We can’t wait to hear your feedback.