Home / Research Programs
Four weeks. One big question. A paper with your name on it.
Each program is a mentor-guided intensive where a small team investigates one current question and co-authors a real research paper, the way professional researchers do. Programs run online for about six to eight hours a week, in Middle School and High School cohorts.
- Every cohort co-authors a real research paper from the first question to the last citation.
- Themes come from the questions shaping the world right now.
- Students gather their own evidence through surveys, simulations, case studies, or design work.
- Each program closes with a symposium where teams present what they found.
Artificial Intelligence
The Tutor in the Machine
Generative AI and the future of student learning. Investigate how AI tools are changing the way students learn, and co-author the evidence.
How is generative AI affecting student learning, and how should schools use it responsibly?
Program overview
A focused four-week intensive on one of the most debated questions in education right now, the rise of generative AI. Rather than survey the whole field, students zero in on a single current problem and work in small teams to produce one collaborative paper.
Along the way they get hands-on with AI tools, so their conclusions rest on real experience as well as published evidence.
What you will learn
- Explain, in plain terms, how generative AI tools and large language models work.
- Review current evidence on how AI affects learning and academic honesty.
- Design and run a small study, such as a peer survey or a structured tool comparison.
- Weigh the benefits against risks like bias, accuracy, and over-reliance.
- Co-author a structured paper with a clear argument and proper citations.
The four-week path
Framing the question
How generative AI works, the current debate in education, and what makes a question researchable.
Gathering evidence
Reviewing credible sources and designing a peer survey or a structured comparison of AI tools.
Analysis and first draft
Turning results into findings, structuring an argument, and drafting the sections of the paper.
Revision and symposium
Peer review, citations, and presenting the findings clearly to the cohort.
The paper you co-author
A co-authored paper that answers your team's question about generative AI in education. It is supported by your own survey or tool-comparison data and a review of current sources, and you present it at the cohort research symposium.
Sample research angles
Business & Finance
Swipe Now, Pay Later
Fintech and the new economics of teen spending. Follow the money through apps, side hustles, and buy now, pay later, then publish what you find.
How are digital tools, from payment apps to buy now, pay later and the creator economy, changing the way young people earn, spend, and save?
Program overview
A focused four-week intensive on how financial technology is reshaping the money habits of a generation. Instead of a broad business survey, teams choose one current trend and study it closely.
Each team gathers its own evidence and co-authors a paper that ends in clear, well-supported recommendations.
What you will learn
- Explain core ideas like income, spending, saving, debt, interest, and risk.
- Map a current trend such as the creator economy, buy now pay later, or micro-investing apps.
- Collect evidence through surveys, case studies, or public data.
- Analyze the benefits and risks of a financial product or behavior.
- Co-author a paper with clear recommendations backed by evidence.
The four-week path
Framing the question
How money, markets, and fintech work, then choosing one trend and writing a research question.
Gathering evidence
Designing a survey or assembling case studies and public data on the chosen trend.
Analysis and first draft
Turning data into insight, building simple charts, and drafting the paper.
Revision and symposium
Peer review, sourcing, and presenting the recommendations.
The paper you co-author
A co-authored paper that analyzes one digital-finance trend, built on your team's own survey or data analysis and a review of sources. It ends with clear recommendations and is presented at the cohort research symposium.
Sample research angles
International Relations
Chokepoint Diplomacy
Critical minerals and the weaponization of global supply chains. When a single mineral can stall factories worldwide, who really holds the power? Research it, argue it, write it.
How are nations turning control of critical minerals and supply chains into tools of power, and can the world reduce these dangerous dependencies without escalating conflict?
Program overview
A focused four-week intensive on one of the defining contests of today's world, the struggle to control the minerals, rare earths, and semiconductors that power modern technology, clean energy, and defense. Recent export controls have shown that whoever dominates a supply chain can pressure rivals without firing a shot.
Teams investigate a real chokepoint, weigh the interests of the countries involved, test their thinking in a negotiation simulation, and co-author a policy-focused paper.
What you will learn
- Explain how trade and economic interdependence can become sources of power and pressure.
- Identify why critical minerals, rare earths, and semiconductors matter to technology, energy, and defense.
- Analyze a real supply-chain chokepoint and the competing interests around it.
- Test arguments through a structured negotiation simulation.
- Co-author a policy-focused research paper.
The four-week path
Framing the question
How trade and interdependence became tools of power, what critical minerals and chips are, and choosing a chokepoint case.
Gathering evidence
Researching the chosen chokepoint, the countries' positions, and recent export-control measures, then collecting sources and data.
Simulation and first draft
A supplier versus importer negotiation to test arguments, followed by analysis and drafting.
Revision and symposium
Peer review, citations, and presenting the findings.
The paper you co-author
A co-authored paper that analyzes how a critical-minerals or supply-chain chokepoint is being used as a tool of power, and recommends how nations could manage the risk. It draws on your team's negotiation simulation and source research, and is presented at the cohort research symposium.
Sample research angles
Medicine & Health Sciences
Wired and Tired
Screen habits and the adolescent sleep crisis. How are screens reshaping teen sleep and health? Run the study, write the paper.
How do screen use and sleep habits affect adolescent health, and what changes could improve well-being?
Program overview
A focused four-week intensive on a timely public-health question that students can genuinely investigate among their peers. Teams review the science, design an ethical study, and co-author a paper built like a real scientific report.
The program is educational and concept-focused. It does not include clinical or treatment instructions.
What you will learn
- Explain how sleep works and why it matters for adolescent health.
- Review public-health evidence on screen use, sleep, and well-being.
- Design and run an ethical peer survey, or work from existing public data.
- Analyze findings and discuss patterns, limitations, and ethics.
- Co-author a paper that follows a scientific structure.
The four-week path
Framing the question
Sleep science and adolescent health, the public-health debate, and research ethics for surveys.
Gathering evidence
Designing an anonymous, ethical survey or selecting public datasets, then collecting data responsibly.
Analysis and first draft
Summarizing data, spotting patterns, and drafting background, methods, and results.
Revision and symposium
Peer review, citations, and presenting the conclusions.
The paper you co-author
A co-authored paper built like a scientific study, with background, methods, results, and discussion, on screen use, sleep, and adolescent health. It is based on your team's ethical survey or public data and is presented at the cohort research symposium.
Sample research angles
Innovative Technology
Designed for All
Inclusive technology and the accessibility gap. Research the need, design the solution, document the evidence.
How can technology be designed to better include people with diverse abilities, and where are today's biggest gaps?
Program overview
A focused four-week intensive on assistive and inclusive technology, a fast-growing field with real human impact. Teams research a specific accessibility need and study how well current tools meet it.
They then propose a design grounded in evidence, with an optional prototype or mockup, and co-author a research-and-design paper.
What you will learn
- Explain the principles of inclusive and universal design.
- Survey existing assistive technologies and find the real gaps.
- Conduct needs-finding research with users or from credible sources.
- Propose, and optionally prototype, a solution grounded in evidence.
- Co-author a research-and-design paper.
The four-week path
Framing the question
Inclusive and universal design, mapping a real accessibility need, and choosing a focus.
Gathering evidence
Needs-finding research and evaluating existing solutions against real requirements.
Design and first draft
Proposing a concept, with an optional sketch, mockup, or prototype, and drafting the paper.
Revision and symposium
Peer review, citations, and presenting the proposal.
The paper you co-author
A co-authored research-and-design paper that documents an accessibility need, evaluates current solutions, and presents an evidence-based design proposal, optionally with a prototype or mockup. You present it at the cohort research symposium.
Sample research angles