Students · ages 14–17 · The Signature Project

Build something real. Stand out when you apply.

Create a substantial real-world project that gives universities evidence of what you can do, not just what you can study. In 12 weeks, go from idea to completed project, professional portfolio and Showcase with the support of a CURIOO mentor.

Reserve your place Find your project
12weeks, online
1live mentor session a week
10students per cohort

Next cohort starts Monday 7 December 2026 · Showcase in the week of 8 March 2027

A student presenting a project to an audience at a showcase
Three things you will do

Create. Prove. Show.

CreateBuild something real. A product, a service, a campaign or a venture, taken from a problem you have noticed to a working version, with a mentor every week.
ProveTest it with real people. Interviews, prototypes and feedback from the users it is for, so the project stands on evidence rather than a pitch.
ShowPresent it as your own project. A Showcase in week twelve, a professional portfolio and a CURIOO certificate of completion that can form part of your university application.
What it is

A real project, not another essay.

A student showing her café app prototype on a phone to the café owner, while a classmate takes notes

Grades show what you’ve learned. Your Signature Project shows what you can do. Twelve weeks of taking an idea of your own, testing it with real people, improving it and standing up to present it, with a mentor beside you.

You choose the idea: a product, a service, a campaign or a social enterprise. Over twelve weeks you frame the problem, design and build a first version, put it in front of real users, refine it from what they tell you, and present the result at a Showcase. Every step is documented, so at the end you hold a professional portfolio and a presentation you can talk about in any interview.

Separate from CURIOO Campus. Campus is what schools buy for their teachers. The Signature Project is yours: you enrol as an individual, work online in a cohort of no more than ten, and keep everything you make.

Not sure what to build? Find your project: ten questions, three concepts sized for twelve weeks.

How cohorts work

Twelve weeks, one idea, one mentor.

Each week has one live online session with your mentor and cohort, independent work on your project between sessions, and six milestone checkpoints so you always know where you stand. Expect around four hours a week in total. The December cohort starts on Monday 7 December, pauses for the holidays from 21 December to 3 January, resumes on 4 January and finishes with the Showcase in the week of 8 March.

Weeks 1–2
Discover
Choose your idea and frame the problem: who has it, how you know, and what a good answer would look like. Talk to real people before you build anything.
Checkpoint 1 · problem statement
Weeks 3–4
Design
Turn the problem into a concept and a plan. Decide what the first version must do, what it can leave out, and how you will know whether it works.
Checkpoint 2 · concept and plan
Weeks 5–7
Make
Build the first version: a working product, a running service, a live campaign or a pilot. Your mentor keeps it real and keeps it small enough to finish.
Checkpoint 3 · first version
Weeks 8–10
Test & refine
Put it in front of real users. Gather what they say and what they do, then improve the work from the evidence, and record what changed and why.
Checkpoint 4 · user evidence
Week 11
Pitch
Build a persuasive presentation: the problem, the solution, the evidence and what happens next. Rehearse it with your cohort and take questions.
Checkpoint 5 · rehearsal with feedback
Week 12
Showcase
Present to an audience, live online, and complete your portfolio. This is the week you walk away with something to show.
Checkpoint 6 · Showcase and portfolio
What you finish with

Something to show, and the story behind it.

1

A professional portfolio

The whole project documented: the problem, your research, the versions you built, what users told you, what you changed and what you learned. Written and designed so it can form part of an application or be shared with an interviewer.

2

A final presentation and a certificate

A recorded presentation to a live audience at the Showcase, with questions and answers, and a CURIOO certificate of completion. The thing you can point to when someone asks what you have actually done.

3

Material for your application

Personal statements and interviews reward specifics. Twelve weeks of decisions, setbacks and evidence give you more to say than any summer course, and it is all true.

For parents

A real project. A story worth telling.

Your child finishes with four things they made themselves. We provide the structure. They do the work.

A completed real-world projectNot a plan or a poster: a product, service, campaign or venture that exists and was used by real people.
Real evidenceInterviews, tests and results, gathered and recorded by your child, showing what worked and what they changed.
A professional portfolioThe project written up to a standard that can sit in a university application or be shown to an interviewer.
A final presentationDelivered live to an audience at the Showcase, recorded, with questions answered.
The milestone chain

Six checkpoints. You hear from us at every one.

Each checkpoint is reviewed by the mentor, and you receive a short update after each: what your child did, and what comes next.

  1. Problem statementWeek 2
  2. Concept and planWeek 4
  3. First versionWeek 7
  4. User evidenceWeek 10
  5. Pitch rehearsalWeek 11
  6. Showcase and portfolioWeek 12
One mentor, all twelve weeks

A CURIOO mentor who has taught entrepreneurship through real student projects.

One mentor leads the cohort from week one to the Showcase, so they know your child’s project, not just their name. Sessions are live and online; between them, the mentor reviews each checkpoint and replies within the week.

Your mentor Name, photograph and background to be announced before the cohort begins.
Safeguarding

Safe by design, online.

  • The mentor is screened before working with students
  • Messaging is in the cohort group only; there is no private messaging between mentor and student
  • Every live session is recorded
  • Parents can raise a concern at any time; how, and what happens next, is in our safeguarding statement
Why CURIOO
  • Award-winning Future Skills education, taught in 15 countries to more than 22,000 learners
  • The same project method that schools buy as CURIOO Campus, delivered to your child one-to-few
Who it is for

Ages 14 to 17. An idea helps; experience is not required.

  • Students aged 14–17 anywhere in the world, working in English
  • An idea you care about, or a problem you have noticed; the Project Finder and week one help you shape it
  • No coding, design or business experience needed; the mentor teaches the method as you go
  • A laptop, a reliable connection and around four hours a week for twelve weeks
  • A parent or guardian enrols you and pays
Students pitching a project with a laptop on a stand
Reserve your place

The December 2026 cohort.

One published price, paid upfront. Reserve with a deposit and pay the balance by 23 November, or pay in full now. A parent or guardian completes the payment; we confirm by email straight away and send the onboarding form.

  • Starts Monday 7 December 2026; holiday pause 21 December to 3 January; Showcase in the week of 8 March 2027
  • Deposit US$250 (10%), non-refundable; balance US$2,245 due 23 November 2026 by personal payment link
  • CURIOOkids alumni and siblings save 15%: enter CURIOOKIDS15 at checkout
  • Fees are not refundable once paid; if we cannot run the cohort, everything is refunded
The Signature Project

Twelve-week online cohort

US$2,495 per student, paid upfront
12 weeks · weekly live mentoring · milestone reviews · Showcase
Limited to 10 students per cohort. Next cohort starts Monday 7 December 2026.
  • Twelve live weekly sessions with a CURIOO mentor
  • Mentor feedback at six milestone checkpoints
  • Showcase in week twelve, recorded
  • Portfolio template and review
  • CURIOO certificate of completion
  • Completion Commitment: free continued support for up to three months if your child has attended, done the work and met the milestones but hasn’t finished

Secure card payment by Stripe. The deposit is non-refundable.

Questions

Before you reserve.

Everything parents and students ask us. If yours is not here, send it below and we reply within one working day.

Still have a question?

We reply within one working day. We never share your details.

Do I need to have an idea already?

No. Many students arrive with a problem they have noticed rather than a solution, and some arrive with neither. The Project Finder gives you three concepts sized for twelve weeks, and the first two weeks are designed to shape an idea worth your time.

When are the live sessions?

One session a week, online, at a fixed time for the cohort. The session time for the December cohort will be published here before enrolment closes, in Hong Kong time, and confirmed to you in the pre-start pack.

What if my child misses a session?

Sessions are recorded; catch up before the next checkpoint.

How much time does it take each week?

Around four hours: one live session of about an hour, and independent work on the project between sessions. Checkpoints fall every two to three weeks, so the load is steady rather than front-loaded.

What are the dates?

The cohort starts on Monday 7 December 2026, pauses for the holidays from 21 December to 3 January, resumes on 4 January and ends with the Showcase in the week of 8 March 2027. Twelve teaching weeks in all.

Is this the same as CURIOO Campus?

No. Campus is the curriculum schools buy for their teachers. The Signature Project uses the same project method and the same standard of assessment, but you enrol as an individual, work with a CURIOO mentor rather than your school, and keep the portfolio yourself.

Who is the mentor?

A CURIOO mentor who has taught entrepreneurship through real student projects, screened before working with students. One mentor leads the cohort for all twelve weeks. The mentor’s name and background are announced before the cohort begins.

How is it kept safe?

The mentor is screened, all messaging is in the cohort group rather than one-to-one, every live session is recorded, and parents can raise a concern at any time. Our safeguarding statement sets out the standards in full.

What if the project doesn’t work?

Some don’t, and that is often the best portfolio. Students are assessed on the quality of their thinking, their evidence and their response to what they learned, not on whether the idea made money.

Is there a certificate?

Yes. Every student who completes the twelve weeks and presents at the Showcase receives a CURIOO certificate of completion. The portfolio and the recorded presentation are the substance you can include in an application; the certificate confirms you completed the programme.

How do I pay?

A parent or guardian pays by card through Stripe. Reserve with a US$250 deposit (10%), and pay the balance of US$2,245 by 23 November 2026 using the personal payment link in your welcome email, with reminders a week and two days before; or pay the full US$2,495 now. The deposit is non-refundable, and fees are not refundable once paid, so please check the dates before you pay. If we cannot run the cohort, everything is refunded.

Is there a discount?

Students who have attended a CURIOOkids Studio, and siblings of enrolled students, receive 15% off: enter the code CURIOOKIDS15 at checkout.

What is the Completion Commitment?

If your child has attended the sessions, done the required work and met the milestones but hasn’t finished their project by the Showcase, we continue mentor support free of charge for up to three months so they can complete it.

What happens after I pay?

You receive a welcome email straight away with an onboarding form for the student’s details and your consents. A week before the start you receive the pre-start pack with the session time, what to prepare and how the platform works. After each of the six checkpoints you receive a short update on your child’s progress.