The duration of weekly sessions are 2-3 hours. The day and time will depend on the cohort you select upon being accepted. Usually, these sessions are on the weekend or weekday evenings.

Outside of sessions, students work on a variety of projects. There are no set time requirements, however students who grow the most during TKS typically allocate 5-10 hours weekly to their projects.

There's no homework in TKS. We've designed the program to reflect the real world and built our own learning platform for students to dive into emerging technologies/sciences, connect with mentors, and work on projects at their own pace.

We also host optional events, such as guest speakers and workshops on topics ranging from mental health, time management, and machine learning. These are typically 1 hour.

Overall, we've designed the program for the students. You can grow at your own pace, but at minimum attend the weekly sessions.

Yes.

We understand that situations can change. If you join TKS and during the year would like to withdraw your enrolment, you will be eligible to receive a partial refund.

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Refund Policy

• You may request to withdraw from TKS at any time during the year.
• Refunds are prorated based on the number of months remaining in the program.
• Early withdrawals are subject to a 20% fee of the full tuition, which covers costs associated with admission, including administrative and program costs.
• The student must follow our withdrawal process to receive the refund, which includes scheduling an off-boarding meeting with their director and submitting their reason for withdrawal.

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Deposits

The purpose of the deposit is to secure a spot in the program, since there is limited space in TKS. By confirming your enrolment, you will be taking away the opportunity from another prospective participant. Therefore, deposits are non-refundable.

No, you don't need previous technical knowledge or coding skills to join. However, having this knowledge can be helpful.

During the program, you will learn the knowledge and skills you need to develop projects in your interest areas. We provide guidance and coaching along the way so you feel supported and motivated, especially when working on complex subjects.

We provide playbooks, mentorship, and resources to help you learn what you need to accomplish your goals.

Yes, we believe that financial barriers should not impact a student's ability to access quality education.

If you're accepted, you will receive instructions on how to apply for financial aid. We've provided hundreds of students around the world with financial aid, which have helped them attend the program.

Our financial aid fund is supported by sponsorships from partners like Walmart, Masason Foundation, IKEA, Microsoft, RBC, Shell, and others. As an organization, TKS also contributes a large portion to our financial aid fund.  

These funds are only provided to families that need financial support. These funds do not need to be repaid.

Note: Distributions are limited to the fund size. The sooner you apply, the higher chances you have to receive support.

Our alumni attend universities including:

• Harvard University
• Stanford University
• MIT
• UC Berkeley
• Carnegie Mellon University
• Johns Hopkins University
• University of Pennsylvania
• UC San Diego
• University of Waterloo
• University of Toronto
• Queens University
• Minerva Schools at KGI
• University of North Carolina, Morehead Cain Scholars Program

... and many more.

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Our priority is to prepare students for the real world. During the program, students work on unique projects and develop a personal portfolio that they use when applying to university.

We also host workshops with alumni who share their experiences and tips for applying to universities.

While we support our students with their post-secondary journeys, the program is designed for their personal growth and development in real-world skills, foundational mindsets, networks, and knowledge of emerging technologies to solve real-world problems.

You can find the tuition fees for the virtual program and in-person program on the program pages. Go to the menu (top right) and select your city or the virtual program.

Payment can be made in two ways:

1. Single Payment: Students can receive a $500 discount by paying for their full tuition up front.

2. Monthly Payments: Tuition can be paid in 10 monthly instalments plus deposit.

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We accept payment via credit card, debit card, and pre authorized bank transfers. If this will be an issue, please contact us for alternative methods.

The application consists of two parts. First, you do the written application. Then, based on your application, you'll be invited to an interview. Interviews are over video chat. If you pass the interview, we will extend an invitation for you to join the program.

The first step is to submit your written application to join TKS.

Here is a guide that will help you answer the questions.

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What to expect:

• There are two parts that should take between 15min to 60min depending on the depth your answers have.
• Part 1: We ask basic information about you, including name, email, and age.
• Part 2: There are 4 questions that help us evaluate your curiosity, drive, and reason for wanting to join.

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The guide above provides details on how we evaluate each question.

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Note: We do not ask for your grades or academic performance. We believe that success in the real-world depends on traits that are beyond what traditional education systems evaluate.

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This program is designed for high school students between the ages of 13-17 years old.

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In addition to the age requirement, you must also:

• Be proficient in English.
• Have access to good internet connection.

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You do not need previous knowledge about emerging technology and coding, however having this knowledge can be helpful during the program.

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Note: At the time of applying, you can be 12 years old.

No. We believe that grades aren’t a wholistic representation of your potential. Our application questions and interview help us evaluate your curiosity, desire to make impact, and drive. We're not looking for what you have done in the past, but rather what we can help you accomplish in the future.

We have in-person programs in New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Austin, Seattle, and Calgary. Don’t see your city listed here? No worries. You can apply for our Global Virtual program, which is online. We also host meetups in cities that have TKS alumni so you can have an in-person connection.

Here's a video of a TKS student explaining what happens during TKS sessions:

The program runs from September-June. During that time, students attend weekly sessions and participate in events including guest speakers, workshops, and more.

TKS has 40+ internal learning modules where students can learn about a variety of emerging sciences and technologies - called Explore Modules.

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Each student can “explore” these learning modules. They include a few hours of hand-picked learning articles and videos.

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After some exploration, students choose a focus area. We provide them with guidance on how to complete a “Focus”, along with specialized Focus Mentors.

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Within each Focus, students develop depth of knowledge in the topic through our project-based learning approach. This includes creating articles and videos around technical research, building algorithms/computer projects yourself, or interviewing researchers in the field. By joining TKS, students have access to our learning frameworks, guidelines and approaches.

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Some examples of topics we offer:

- Alternative Energy

- Material Science

- Artificial Intelligence

- Brain-computer Interfaces

- Nanotechnology

- Cellular Agriculture

- Blockchain & Cryptocurrencies

- Space Exploration

- Cancer treatments

- Metaverse

- Metabolomics

… and the list goes on.

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Students can Focus on whatever interests them - we prioritize curiosity. If the topic they’re passionate about isn’t available, they’re still able to complete a Focus in it.

Our alumni are redefining what young people can accomplish. Some examples include:

• Building Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) at Google DeepMind, SanctuaryAI, and OpenAI.
• Working on cutting-edge cancer therapies and conducting clinical trials at research labs in Stanford, Harvard, and Berkeley.
• Researching alternative energy like Fusion at companies like General Fusion.
• Working on advancements in space at companies like SpaceX and NASA.
• Building quantum-machine learning algorithms at Rigetti and IBM.
• Becoming thought-leaders and paid consultants in areas like alternative protein and healthcare.
• Starting venture-backed companies and raising millions of dollars. Our alumni have raised over $80,000,000 for their startups.
• Attend top-tier universities including Harvard, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, UC Berkeley, Waterloo, and Cambridge.