Do I need a project idea already?

Not at all. Most students come to us with a general area of interest rather than a fully formed idea. We help you narrow it down into something concrete, scoped, and achievable.

What's the weekly time commitment outside of sessions?

Plan for 3–5 hours of build time per week between sessions, plus mentor check-ins. The sessions themselves run twice a week, mostly on weekends.

What happens after I apply?

Once you apply, you'll hear back on whether you've been placed. After confirmation, you'll be matched with a mentor based on your project direction and receive your full resource toolkit before the cohort begins.

What do I get at the end?

You get five deliverables: a defined problem statement, a working prototype, a project portfolio, a stronger college narrative, and a curated list of next opportunities including competitions, grants, and organisations aligned to your project.

Any high school student (Grades 8-12) who has something they want to explore and wants to build something of their own. Whether you're figuring out what you want to study, building your profile for university applications, or just curious about a field, this is for you.

Can I do this alongside school?

Yes. The programme is built around your schedule. The sessions are on weekends and if you are unable to attend, a recording will be shared with you.

Will this help my college application?

A well-executed personal project is one of the strongest things you can bring to an application. It shows initiative, independent thinking, and the ability to see something through; qualities that are genuinely hard to demonstrate anywhere else.

What grade do I need to be in to start?

We work with students from Grade 8 through to Grade 12. The earlier you start, the more time you have to build something substantial, but it's never too late to begin.

Can I submit my project to competitions?

Yes, and we actively encourage it. Depending on your project, there are competitions across research, entrepreneurship, social impact, and more that accept student submissions. We can help you identify the right ones.

Do I need any prior experience or knowledge in the field?

No. You just need curiosity and commitment. Our team will help you understand the kind of knowledge you need to build as you go.

What if I don't finish in time?

We work with you to set a realistic scope from the start, so this is less common than you'd think. If something comes up, our team helps you adjust the plan without losing momentum.

How is this different from other project programmes?

Most programmes end when the project ends. This one is designed so that by the time you finish, you know exactly how to talk about what you built in essays, interviews, and applications. The work and the narrative are built together, not separately.

Passion Project

Lab · Cohort 2

Turn yourpassioninto a project colleges can't ignore.

A 6-week lab where you'll ideate, design, and execute a high impact project. You'll leave with a working prototype, a portfolio, and a story worth telling in your applications.

Duration

6 weeks

Dec 19 to Jan 31

Cadence

2 sessions/week

Mostly weekends

Cohort

30 students

No waitlist backfill

Investment

$750

Special price $750

30 Under 30 Asia

Frameworks from a Forbes-recognized founder who built with them first.

Frameworks rooted in

About the lab

About BuildUp's Passion Project Lab

The Passion Project Lab is a six-week, mentor-guided program that helps students turn an interest into a real, well-executed project.

Students do not need to arrive with a polished idea. They begin by identifying a problem they genuinely care about, understanding who it affects, and deciding what they can realistically build to address it.

Over six weeks, they move from research and problem definition to planning, prototyping, testing, and presenting their work. Depending on the idea, the final project could be a product, campaign, platform, initiative, toolkit, event, publication, or community solution.

The goal is to help students discover what they care about, develop real expertise in an area of interest, and create tangible evidence of their ability to solve meaningful problems.

Meet our co-founder

Arya Diwase

Co-founder at BuildUp Global · Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia, Class of 2026

Admits

Harvard
Columbia
UPenn
Berkeley
NYU
Duke
Georgetown
Northwestern
UCLA
USC

Recognition

Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia

Recognised in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Class of 2026 for contributions to education and social impact.

Education

NYU & Duke University

Graduate of New York University and holder of a dual MBA and Master of Public Policy from Duke University, where she studied entrepreneurship, venture creation, and innovation.

Track Record

16,000+ Students Mentored

Helped 16,000+ students discover careers through internships, research, and passion projects.

Venture Builder

Duke University Flagship Accelerator

The Passion Project Lab is based on the same venture-building principles from Duke University's flagship Melissa & Doug accelerator, redesigned specifically for ambitious high school students.

“Everything in this lab comes from frameworks I've used to build companies, launch products, and help thousands of students turn ideas into reality. We've adapted that process into six weeks so any motivated high school student can build something meaningful from scratch.”
— Arya Diwase

Outcomes

Here's what you leave with.

Five tangible deliverables — so you finish with proof, not just ideas.

A Problem Worth Solving

Define a clear, specific problem with a well-defined audience. By the end of the program, you'll have a concise problem statement that explains who is affected, what's happening, and why solving it matters.

A Working Prototype

Leave with something tangible, whether that's an app, website, campaign, curriculum, product, or research tool. Not just an idea, but the first version of something you can actually demonstrate.

A Project Portfolio

Document your entire journey with photos, milestones, evidence, and reflections, all organized into a professional portfolio you can share with colleges, mentors, and future opportunities.

A Stronger College Narrative

Turn your project into a compelling story of initiative, problem solving, and impact that strengthens your college applications and essays.

Your Next Opportunities

Receive a curated list of competitions, grants, accelerators, publications, and organizations that align with your project, along with guidance on how to reach out and keep building momentum.

The 6-week curriculum

The 6-Week Journey.

From identifying a meaningful problem to launching a project you can be proud of.

Sessions

Cadence

2× / week

Build hours

3–5 / wk

Week 1 · Aug 22–23

Foundations & Ideation

Two sessions this week. Open a session card for what you'll actually do — and what you leave with.

01Session

The Passion Audit

Map the intersection of your interests, skills, and problems worth solving — the same Interest × Skill × Problem framework used to identify venture opportunities at Duke. Leave with 8 to 10 possible project directions.

02Session

Idea Generation & Validation

Brainstorm to expand your options, then filter to your top 3. Quick validation: talk to 5 people about the problem before you commit to a solution.

Please note: The curriculum and session schedule may be adjusted based on the needs and interests of each cohort, guest speaker availability, and project progress.

How it works

Designed for how students actually build.

Clear placement, mentorship matched to your project, and live sessions that fit a school calendar.

Students in a mentorship and build session

Solo or team. Mentor matched to your project. Live sessions, mostly weekends.

Step 01

Solo or team, your choice

Work independently or opt into a team. Teams are matched on shared interests or overlapping skills — not assigned at random.

Step 02

Mentors assigned by project

Once you're placed, you're matched with a mentor for the cohort. Mentors check in between sessions to keep you moving.

Step 03

Live sessions, mostly weekends

Two sessions a week for 6 weeks. Exact times confirmed after enrollment based on cohort scheduling.

Swipe to see all steps →

Step 01

Step 02

Step 03

Solo or team, your choice

Work independently or opt into a team. Teams are matched on shared interests or overlapping skills — not assigned at random.

Mentors assigned by project

Once you're placed, you're matched with a mentor for the cohort. Mentors check in between sessions to keep you moving.

Live sessions, mostly weekends

Two sessions a week for 6 weeks. Exact times confirmed after enrollment based on cohort scheduling.

What kind of projects count

What can your passion project be?

Almost anything. The framework works whether you're building a product, launching an initiative, conducting research, creating a campaign, or solving a problem in your community.

Venture

A startup idea turned into a real prototype with users, metrics, and a pitch.

Nonprofit / initiative

A community or social-impact project with a clear mission and early evidence.

Research project

A rigorous inquiry with a documented process and findings you can stand behind.

App or product

A no-code or designed MVP — mockups, flows, and a working first version.

Creative body of work

A portfolio-worthy creative project with a narrative colleges can follow.

Community program

Workshops, clubs, or programs you design, run, and document for impact.

01/06

Venture

A startup idea turned into a real prototype with users, metrics, and a pitch.

Nonprofit / initiative

A community or social-impact project with a clear mission and early evidence.

Research project

A rigorous inquiry with a documented process and findings you can stand behind.

App or product

A no-code or designed MVP — mockups, flows, and a working first version.

Creative body of work

A portfolio-worthy creative project with a narrative colleges can follow.

Community program

Workshops, clubs, or programs you design, run, and document for impact.

Real outcomes

Real passion projects we've explored.

Examples of student work across domains — and the universities they were admitted to.

Engineering & Technology

Air Quality Monitoring System

Built a network of low-cost IoT sensors across three neighbourhoods to measure pollution levels over six months. Findings were compiled into a report submitted to the local municipal corporation with specific intervention recommendations.

Output

Prototype + Research report

Admitted to

Psychology & Sociology

Social Media and Self-Perception

Ran a six-week study with 60 high school participants exploring the relationship between daily social media consumption and self-image. Findings were turned into an interactive presentation delivered at a school mental health event.

Output

Awareness campaign

Admitted to

Law & Policy

Food Security Scheme Implementation Study

Conducted ground-level research across five villages, interviewing beneficiaries and local officials on how a national food security scheme was being implemented in practice versus on paper.

Output

Policy brief submitted to a state-level NGO

Admitted to

Business & Finance

Why First-Generation Earners Avoid Investing

Surveyed 80 young professionals aged 22–30 on their investment habits and decision-making patterns. Findings were written up as a consumer insight report used by a fintech startup to refine their onboarding.

Output

Consumer insight report

Admitted to

Medicine & Health

Barriers to Antenatal Care in Rural Communities

Partnered with a rural health clinic to understand why women in the area were not accessing maternal health services. Conducted 25 interviews and co-designed a community communication campaign with local health workers.

Output

Community campaign + findings report

Admitted to

Environment

Urban Heat and Green Cover

Measured temperature variation across six neighbourhoods using low-cost sensors, analysed the correlation with green cover and surface materials, and turned findings into an infographic series shared with a city planning NGO.

Output

Infographic series

Admitted to

01/06

Engineering & Technology

Air Quality Monitoring System

Output

Prototype + Research report

Admitted to

Psychology & Sociology

Social Media and Self-Perception

Output

Awareness campaign

Admitted to

Law & Policy

Food Security Scheme Implementation Study

Conducted ground-level research across five villages, interviewing beneficiaries and local officials on how a national food security scheme was being implemented in practice versus on paper.

Output

Policy brief submitted to a state-level NGO

Admitted to

Business & Finance

Why First-Generation Earners Avoid Investing

Output

Consumer insight report

Admitted to

Medicine & Health

Barriers to Antenatal Care in Rural Communities

Output

Community campaign + findings report

Admitted to

Environment

Urban Heat and Green Cover

Output

Infographic series

Admitted to

How this compares

Similar programs run $3,000–$10,000.

This lab combines venture frameworks, college alignment, and mentor + peer structure — priced so a full cohort of 30 can access it.

Typical range

$3,000–$5,000

Cohort accelerators & fellowships

Usually 8–10 weeks, group-based venture building — with little support connecting the work to college applications.

Typical range

$5,000–$8,000

Private 1:1 project coaching

Individual attention and a personalized plan, but no peer cohort, shared mentor network, or resource library at this scale.

Typical range

$8,000–$10,000

Elite college consulting + projects

Strong on admissions narrative, but light on actual building, execution, and tools.

This lab combines all three — for $750.

Venture-building frameworks, college alignment work, and the mentor and peer structure — priced to be accessible to a full cohort of 30 students, not a handful who can afford a five-figure program.

Tools & resources included

A $1,680+ toolkit — free with your seat.

Eight resources students usually buy separately. Every participant gets all of them included with their seat — $1,680+ value, included with your seat.

Your seat includes

$1,680+ value

$750

Included

$1,680+ value, included with your seat.

Tools & Build Reference Sheet

Every tool from the workshop in one place — Figma, Canva, Carrd, Webflow, Notion, Glide, Bubble, and the Claude prompts we use for research and outreach.

$175Included

Outreach & Submission Templates

Ready-to-send templates for cold emails, competition entries, and grant submissions.

$225Included

Competition & Grant Shortlist

A running list of real competitions, grants, and organizations, sorted by project category.

$295Included

Application Narrative Guide

Turns the finished project into an Activities List entry, essay material, and a recommender list.

$245Included

Portfolio Site Starter Kit

Checklist and section outline for the live portfolio site.

$195Included

Supplemental Essay Prompt Bank

Maps the project to common supplemental prompts (Why This Major, Extracurricular Elaboration, Intellectual Curiosity) so it's reusable across every school.

$275Included

Project One-Pager Template

A single shareable page for teachers, recommenders, or family.

$145Included

Recommendation Letter Request Kit

Template and guide for asking a teacher or mentor for a letter tied to this project.

$125Included

01/08

Tools & Build Reference Sheet

Every tool from the workshop in one place — Figma, Canva, Carrd, Webflow, Notion, Glide, Bubble, and the Claude prompts we use for research and outreach.

$175Included

Outreach & Submission Templates

Ready-to-send templates for cold emails, competition entries, and grant submissions.

$225Included

Competition & Grant Shortlist

A running list of real competitions, grants, and organizations, sorted by project category.

$295Included

Application Narrative Guide

Turns the finished project into an Activities List entry, essay material, and a recommender list.

$245Included

Portfolio Site Starter Kit

Checklist and section outline for the live portfolio site.

$195Included

Supplemental Essay Prompt Bank

Maps the project to common supplemental prompts (Why This Major, Extracurricular Elaboration, Intellectual Curiosity) so it's reusable across every school.

$275Included

Project One-Pager Template

A single shareable page for teachers, recommenders, or family.

$145Included

Recommendation Letter Request Kit

Template and guide for asking a teacher or mentor for a letter tied to this project.

$125Included

Outcomes

BuildUp student admits.

Students from the BuildUp ecosystem progress to globally respected universities on the strength of real projects, rigorous mentorship, and unique profiles.

Brown University
NYU
Carnegie Mellon University
UC Berkeley
Duke University
UCLA
Harvard University
University College London

King’s College London
University of Oxford
London Business School
University of Warwick
LSE
USC
NUS

BuildUp Program Outcomes

Same frameworks. Proven outcomes.

These numbers come from BuildUp/Mirai — built on the same frameworks you'll use in this lab.

Students explored real careers through the platform

Discovered a new career interest through hands-on projects

Global internships facilitated with 75+ partner companies

“BuildUp taught me skills I didn't expect to pick up. I learned technical skills and also the skills I could learn by actually doing something. Working through a real challenge in an area I genuinely cared about made the whole process feel completely different to anything I'd done before.”

Mirriam Mutasa

Pestalozzi Education Center · Zambia

BuildUp's student

Our student community