Find your direction
Explore your interests through work you can explain, demonstrate and build on.
PASSION PROJECTS & YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Your passion.
Your project.
Your venture.
Build a passion project that’s truly yours—and learn how to turn it into a venture. With mentors, product strategists and technical guidance, take what you care about from an idea to something real people can use.
For school & university students · From first projects to first ventures
BUILT AROUND YOUR PASSION.MB / LAB
what if?
01 / YOUR PASSIONAn idea you
want to bring to life.
want to bring to life.
02 / YOUR FIRST VENTUREBuild. Test. Launch.
Passion → Project → Venture
REAL PROBLEMS↗REAL PROJECTS↗REAL USERS↗REAL IMPACT
01 / THE EXPERIENCE
Your curiosity.
A whole studio behind it.
Step inside MandarinBleu’s innovation ecosystem. Work through a meaningful challenge with guidance from mentors, product strategists and technical specialists.
Bring your idea to life
Develop your project with product and engineering guidance from an active technology studio.
Take it into the world
Talk to potential users, test your assumptions and learn what makes a solution useful.
02 / FIND YOUR QUESTION
Six directions.
Endless possibilities.
Start with something you care about. These example challenges show where your curiosity could lead.
01 / PROJECT TRACK↗
AI × Education
How could learning work better for everyone?
Reading tools · Language learning · Learning analytics02 / PROJECT TRACK✳
Health & Wellbeing
What helps people build healthier everyday habits?
Sleep & movement · Health education · Ageing well03 / PROJECT TRACK◎
AI × Society
How can technology earn our trust?
Misinformation · AI bias · Digital wellbeing04 / PROJECT TRACK⌘
Accessibility Tech
Who gets left out of the tools we use?
Inclusive reading · Assistive tools · ESL05 / PROJECT TRACK↟
Climate & Sustainability
What could a more sustainable campus look like?
Food waste · Sustainable consumption · Climate action06 / PROJECT TRACK↗
Media, Business & FinTech
What would you build for the next generation?
Creator tools · Financial literacy · Consumer researchHealth projects focus on education, behaviour and non-diagnostic tools.
03 / THE FELLOWSHIP JOURNEY
From “what if”
to “I made this.”
The flagship 12–16 week pathway takes you through the full process, from your first question to sharing what you’ve learned.
- 01
Discover
Listen to people. Find a problem worth solving.
- 02
Define
Frame your question, your audience and what success means.
- 03
Design
Shape a solution or an experiment with your mentors.
- 04
Build / Research
Create the prototype or carry out your original research.
- 05
Test
Gather real feedback and evidence. Improve your work.
- 06
Launch & Share
Present your project, findings and impact at Demo Day.
Your work deserves an audience.
The journey culminates in an Innovation Demo Day: a chance to present your project, explain your decisions and share your evidence.
04 / BUILD TOWARD YOUR NEXT CHAPTER
Make your next step
a meaningful one.
Applying to a school, preparing for university or building your first venture? Create work that helps you show what you care about—and what you can do.
01 / HIGH SCHOOL APPLICATIONS
Show the person behind the grades.
Give your interests a tangible form. An age-appropriate project can help you explain your curiosity, initiative and contribution to your community in school applications and interviews.
THE EVIDENCE YOU BUILD
A project portfolio, a prototype and thoughtful reflections on what you learned.
02 / COLLEGE APPLICATIONS
Give your application a story with substance.
Explore an academic interest deeply enough to have something original to say. Document your decisions, your individual contribution and what changed through your work, then draw on that experience in activity descriptions, essays and interviews.
THE EVIDENCE YOU BUILD
Research, a working demo and evidence of progress to support your own application narrative.
03 / UNIVERSITY VENTURES
Arrive with more than an idea.
Take a student venture beyond the classroom. Customer interviews, an MVP and early user feedback give you a foundation for conversations with potential co-founders, campus incubators and student enterprise programs.
THE EVIDENCE YOU BUILD
A tested problem, an MVP, a venture pitch and a roadmap for the next experiment.
04 / INNOVATION COMPETITIONS
Build work worth putting on a stage.
Develop the substance behind a strong entry: a clear problem, an original solution and evidence that it could work. Use project reviews and Demo Day to practise explaining your thinking and answering challenging questions.
THE EVIDENCE YOU BUILD
Project research, a demonstration and a pitch you can adapt to an eligible competition’s rules.
Your own work. Your own voice. A project complements your academic record; admission, funding and awards are never guaranteed.
Let’s discuss your goalsA WIDER WORLD FOR YOUR IDEAS
Find the right stage
for your work.
Explore these independent programs and competitions as possible next steps. The best fit depends on your age, project, team and goals.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM
LaunchX
High school students
A next step for students seeking an immersive entrepreneurship experience. Your project can give you concrete examples of initiative, teamwork and learning to discuss when applying.
Explore LaunchXPITCH COMPETITION SERIES
AwardX by LaunchX
Young founders · Eligibility varies by event
For business ideas and early ventures. A clear customer problem, prototype and compelling pitch can provide the foundations for a suitable entry.
Explore AwardX by LaunchXBUSINESS & SOCIAL INNOVATION
Diamond Challenge
High school teams
A fit for business or social venture concepts. Project research can help you explain the need, your proposed solution and how it could create value.
Explore Diamond ChallengeSTUDENT INNOVATION COMPETITION
Conrad Challenge
School-age innovators · Team-based
A potential route for technology-led solutions to real-world problems. Develop the technical concept, its practical use and the story behind your innovation.
Explore Conrad ChallengeVIRTUAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMPETITION
Blue Ocean Competition
High school / pre-university students
For original business ideas that create new market space. Customer discovery can help you articulate what makes your solution different in a concise video pitch.
Explore Blue Ocean CompetitionUNIVERSITY STARTUP COMPETITION
Hult Prize
University teams · Age and enrollment rules apply
For student-led, for-profit ventures addressing a UN Sustainable Development Goal. An MVP and user feedback can help you develop the venture and its impact case.
Explore Hult PrizeThese are external opportunities, not MandarinBleu partners or included placements. LaunchX is an entrepreneurship program; AwardX is its competition series. Check each organizer’s current eligibility, deadlines, fees and rules on mentorship, AI use and original work before applying. Participation and selection are not guaranteed.
05 / CHOOSE YOUR STARTING POINT
Room to explore.
Space to go further.
Three pathways, shaped around your experience and ambition.
START WITH CURIOSITY
Innovation Explorer
Grades 7–9 · First-time innovators
6–8 weeksDiscover a problem, learn how to investigate it and create your first small prototype.
- Problem discovery
- Guided research
- Small prototype
$1,500–2,500Indicative tuition · USD
Discuss this pathway THE FLAGSHIP EXPERIENCE
Innovation Fellow
Grades 9–12 · University students
12–16 weeksTake a real project from its first question through design, development and user testing.
- Full project journey
- Mentor & technical guidance
- Project portfolio & Demo Day
$4,000–6,000Indicative tuition · USD
Discuss this pathway BUILD WHAT’S NEXT
Young Founder
Experienced school & university students
4–9 monthsDevelop a clear idea into a working product or social venture, and learn from real users.
- Customer discovery & MVP
- Launch, feedback & iteration
- Venture development
$7,000–12,000+Indicative tuition · USD
Discuss this pathway Program structure and tuition are proposed and subject to confirmation. Final details will be shared before enrollment.
WORK YOU CAN POINT TO
More than an experience.
Something you created.
BUILD
A tool, app or prototype
RESEARCH
Original findings & evidence
IMPACT
An intervention with measurable results
VENTURE
An MVP tested with potential customers
Your output depends on your project. Awards, publication, adoption and admissions results are not guaranteed.
THE PEOPLE BEHIND YOUR PROJECT
Builders. Founders.
Educators.
Learn with a team that brings together hands-on app development, product design and educational guidance.
Technology Lead
Ezio
Serial entrepreneur · App builder
Ezio is a serial entrepreneur, app builder and founder and CTO of multiple software platforms. An Oxford alumnus with 10 years of software engineering experience and a former tech lead, he brings expertise in cloud platforms, databases and production-ready applications to the lab.
From technical idea to working prototype
Product Design Lead
Rae
Serial entrepreneur · App builder
Rae is a serial entrepreneur and app builder, and the founder and CEO of multiple software platforms. An alumna of Columbia, Sciences Po and Oxford, she combines product strategy with 8 years of consulting experience to turn user needs into clear product concepts and thoughtful designs.
From user insight to product design
Education Lead
Ivy
Educational consultant · 100+ students supported
Ivy is an educational consultant who has helped more than 100 students create their own passion projects. She brings a student-centered perspective to the lab, helping young people connect their interests with meaningful project ideas and articulate what they learn along the way.
From personal interest to purposeful exploration
A FEW GOOD QUESTIONS
Curious?
Start here.
How can a project support my applications?
A project gives you firsthand material to reflect on: the question you pursued, your own contribution, obstacles you worked through and evidence of progress. You can use that experience in activity descriptions, essays and interviews where relevant. Follow each school’s submission policies; portfolios are only useful where accepted. Students remain the authors of their work and applications, and admissions decisions remain with the institution.
Do I need to know how to code?
Your starting point depends on the project. The Explorer pathway is designed for first-time innovators, and projects can involve research, design or social impact as well as software. We’ll discuss your experience and interests to help identify a suitable pathway.
Will every student build an app?
No. A project may become an AI tool, a research report, a prototype, a social intervention or a venture MVP. The question you investigate should determine the format of your work.
What do students leave with?
The aim is a documented project with research, a prototype or other original output, and a presentation. Working products, user data, external recognition and real-world adoption are further milestones that depend on the project and its progress.
Does the fellowship guarantee awards or university admission?
No. The fellowship focuses on meaningful work, skills and evidence of progress. Competitions, publications and showcases may be relevant opportunities, but awards, publication and admissions outcomes are not guaranteed.
When and where does the program take place?
Founding cohort dates, delivery format and weekly commitments are still to be confirmed. Contact the team to discuss suitability and receive details before making any commitment.
HELP SHAPE THE FOUNDING COHORT
What are you
curious about?
We’re planning a small founding fellowship of 6–10 students. Tell us about your interests and where you’d like to go. We’ll explore the right starting point together.
Start a conversation Opens your email app · rfan@mandarinbleu.fr