PROJECT INVENT FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION
2026-2027 Cohort

Every year, Project Invent invites innovative and disruptive educators to reinvigorate their teaching by incorporating design thinking and innovation in their classrooms.

Throughout the year-long fellowship journey, we support our Fellows with a suite of tools to deliver real-world experiences to their students so they can become fearless, compassionate problem solvers and design for social good. Some of these tools include:
  • Four days of immersive training in design thinking and innovation;
  • Three professional development workshops to support your growth throughout the school year;
  • Invention curriculum complete with dozens of interactive classroom activities;
  • Connections with local community partners to collaborate with your students;
  • Opportunities to get feedback and support for your students from engineers, designers, and entrepreneurs; 
  • 1:1 support with a Project Invent Program Manager; 
  • National platforms for your students to present their work.
To take full advantage of the Project Invent Fellowship experience, all registrants should be prepared to meet the following requirements:
  1. Attend Project Invent's Fellow Institute. 
  2. Recruit at least five students to join you on the invention journey.
  3. Provide weekly support (1-2 hours/week) to your student inventors.
  4. Engage in our virtual community. Throughout the year, you and your students will have opportunities to participate in Project Invent's Flagship programming (e.g. Kickoff, Cohort Gatherings). We expect Fellows to make program participation a priority as much as is reasonable.
Please proceed to the next page to begin your Project Invent Fellowship registration.

Note: the form does not auto-save, so you will need to complete all three sections in the same session. You should budget 30-45 minutes to complete this form. 

EDUCATOR INFORMATION

Note: In an effort to build a diverse cohort, we collect demographic information. However, you are not required to disclose this information if you do not want to. This information will be kept private and will only be used anonymously for reporting purposes.
Personal Information




If you do not have a LinkedIn profile, feel free to include a link to your classroom homepage. Leave this field blank if you'd prefer not to share a link.












Site Information

e.g. "Art Teacher," or "STEAM Program Coordinator"







Project Invent's fee requirements are determined by the population of students that our Fellows serve. If you work in a setting where more than 40% of your students are from low-income households, please select "Yes."


Implementation
Project Invent's curriculum and programming offer opportunities for flexibility and personalization based on your needs as an educator. To help us understand your vision for Project Invent, please answer the following questions to the best of your ability.

Note: Answer these questions based on your best guess! We understand that roles and classes change, so you will have the opportunity to make updates to this information if you are accepted into the Fellowship.




Fees & Requirments


Note: No mobile information will be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes.

VIDEO SUMBISSION

VIDEO SUBMISSION

While the Project Invent Fellowship takes place through virtual platforms, we are committed to cultivating a community of passionate educators to learn and grow together.

Throughout the course of the school year, you and your students will have the opportunity to engage with various stakeholders (Project Invent staff, Project Invent Fellows, professionals, volunteers, Community Partners, etc.) via virtual platforms.

In order to get to know you a little better, we would love for you to submit a short video answer the following question:   Why are you interested in joining the Project Invent Fellowship?

Don't worry about polish! At Project Invent, we value passion over perfection!
Press the record button to begin. If you would like to start over, press the record button again. When you are ready to submit your recording, press the "Save to Dropbox" button and enter your name into the text box. Your video will be submitted as soon as you press "Upload."  Recordings are limited to 2 minutes.

TEACHER PRACTICES

REFLECTION: PROJECT INVENT'S TEACHER PRACTICES

At Project Invent, we believe that educators have the power to cultivate fearless, compassionate problems-solvers within their classrooms and communities. We train educators in six key teacher practices that we believe to be critical to student growth and empowerment.

Learn more about each of our teacher practices below. Then, complete the short reflection at the bottom of this page.
Let Students Take the Wheel: Trust students to solve their own problems and engage in productive struggle. Consistently remain a facilitator.
Challenge Assumptions: Encourage students to seek input and feedback from their users and supporters. Make space for empathy in the problem-solving process.
Be A Co Learner: Demonstrate the joy of learning. Disentangle "teacher" from "expert," and model the power of exploring something new.
Make Failure OK: Promote risk-taking and experimentation in the classroom. Cultivate supportive environments where "failure" is a necessary and valuable part of the learning process.
Leave Room for Exploration: Inspire students to follow where their curiosity leads them. Build creative confidence by emphasizing the process over the final product.
Push to the Next Level: Help students remove mental blocks standing in the way of their ambitions. Build students' confidence to strive for more than "good enough."
Bonus material: If you would like to hear more about Project Invent's teacher practices, check out the Project Invent Podcast! This season, we are asking our Fellows to share stories about teacher practices coming to life in the classroom.

Focus on the teacher practice that you selected above. Tell us about a time when you saw the power of this practice in action. You may choose to approach this question from one of two perspectives:
  • When have you demonstrated this practice as an educator? How did it impact your students?
  • When have you witnessed the power of this practice as a student? How did your teacher demonstrate this practice and why was this experience impactful to you as a student?
Note: We do not expect you to be an expert in any of the teacher practices listed above! Project Invent Fellows are trained in each of these practices and will grow their understanding throughout the course of the Fellowship!

FELLOW INSTITUTE

Training Dates
Mark Your Calendars!
Fellow Institute is 4 days of collaborative & experiential training where you will be placed in a small invention team. We have 4 training options for the 2025-2026 school year - two in July and one in October.

Please note that participants in the October training are only eligible to participate in our Spring Program Timeline. Though the spring timeline officially kicks off in January, you will be able to start implementing the program and working with your Community Partner as early as November.

Accepted Fellows must attend our 4-day training program. We have Summer and Fall training options, click the link below for details:
Please rank order your preference/availability for training.
Jul 13-16 Jul 20-23 Oct 17-22

Get Your Invention Kit!
Mail is coming! We will ship your materials to the address provided below before Fellow Institute. You will need some materials for training, such as your microcontroller starter pack. Please specify shipping information here.


Shipping Address





Technology Choice
Project Invent students must incorporate tech into their inventions. The most common and easy to use microprocessors are Arduino and Micro:bit. Both can easily be learned without any prior knowledge of programming or electronics and are supported by strong online communities and resources.

Your training kit will include your choice of an Arduino or Micro:bit starter kit.
  • Arduino is used globally by students, inventors, and tinkerers and provides a vast array of customizations. We recommend Arduino for high school-aged students as it provides a great knowledge base transferrable directly to college & career readiness
  • Micro:bit was introduced by BBC Education in the UK as an educational tool and relies upon more integrated functionality to provide a more simplified interface to foster learning. We recommend it for both hight school and middle school-aged students as it has a low barrier to entry.











Please share first names, last names and email addresses, separated by semi-colons, e.g. "Peter Parker pparker@gmail.com; Bruce Wayne bwayne@gmail.com"
Referral Information