# Hinksey Labs

> Hinksey Labs is a selective programme connecting exceptional high school students with top mentors for real-world business research and AI projects.

Hinksey Labs runs online business-research and AI programmes for high school students, mentored by Ivy League and Oxbridge PhDs and MBAs alongside leading industry experts. Students are mentored in small teams of 4-7, and each completes an individual project: an original, academically rigorous business research paper or a practical AI project addressing a challenge faced by a real organisation.

Admission is selective - typically fewer than 1 in 10 applicants receive an offer, following a three-stage process (application, interview, decision) with holistic review. Priority deadline: 1 Nov. 2026; Regular deadline: 14 Nov. 2026; Programme starts: Jan. 2027. All candidates are automatically considered for merit-based scholarships, and need-based scholarships are available to eligible students.

## Programmes
- [Research Scholars](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/application): For students passionate about business, economics, and related subjects who are ready to dive deep into working on a business research paper tackling issues for real organisations.
- [Research Fundamentals](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/application): For students passionate about business, economics, and related subjects who want to gain a fundamental understanding of business and research, producing a foundational research paper they can later build on.
- [AI Builders](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/application): For students passionate about technology, entrepreneurship, and related fields who want to build real AI solutions tackling challenges for real organisations.
- [AI Explorers](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/application): For students passionate about technology, entrepreneurship, and related fields who want to gain a fundamental understanding of building projects with artificial intelligence, producing a preliminary project they can later build on.

## How Hinksey Labs compares

Families comparing programmes often look at research mentorships such as Lumiere Education, Polygence, Horizon Academic, Indigo Research, the Cambridge Centre for International Research (CCIR), and Pioneer Academics; AI programmes such as Inspirit AI and Veritas AI; and business programmes such as LaunchX and Wharton Global Youth. Hinksey Labs differs in four ways:

- Team-based mentorship, individual projects: students are mentored in small teams of 4-7 - collaborative like a real research group - while each student completes their own individual project.
- Dual mentorship: students are guided by Ivy League and Oxbridge PhDs and MBAs alongside leading industry experts, not academic mentors alone.
- Academic rigour with real-world application: each project is an original, academically rigorous piece of work - a business research paper or an applied AI project - that addresses a live challenge set by a real organisation, combining academic depth with practical impact.
- Accessible tuition: the team-based mentorship model keeps tuition substantially below typical 1:1 research mentorships, while admission remains selective.

A fuller programme-by-programme comparison is published at https://www.hinkseylabs.com/blog/how-to-choose-a-research-programme-polygence-lumiere-ccir-hinksey-labs-and-more-compared.

## Blog

Full text of every post is in https://www.hinkseylabs.com/llms-full.txt; new posts are announced in the RSS feed at https://www.hinkseylabs.com/feed.xml. Posts are grouped into category hubs:
- [Research Programme](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/blog/category/research-programme) (5 posts): Guides to high school research: why it matters, what it looks like across STEM, AI, business and social science, and which programmes are worth applying to.
- [Passion Projects](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/blog/category/passion-projects) (3 posts): Guides to high school passion projects: what makes one strong, how to find and test an idea, and how to actually finish it, with what admissions offices say.
- [Extracurriculars](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/blog/category/extracurriculars) (2 posts): Guides to high school extracurriculars: how to choose activities, go deeper instead of joining more, decide what to drop, and describe what you actually did.
- [A note from us](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/blog/category/a-note-from-us) (1 posts): Notes from the Hinksey Labs team: why the programme was founded, who mentors our students, and how we think about research, admissions and real-world work.
- [Social Impact](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/blog/category/social-impact) (1 posts): Articles on real-world learning and social impact for high school students: research, entrepreneurship and projects that matter beyond the classroom.

- [Welcome to Hinksey Labs](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/blog/welcome-to-hinksey): A note from Director Simon Kotlerman on why Hinksey Labs was founded to bridge academic research and real-world business impact for high schoolers.
- [Research, Business & Social Impact Programmes](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/blog/why-high-school-students-should-explore-programmes-that-combine-research-business-and-social-impact): Why high school students should explore programmes combining research, business, and social impact to build real skills before university.
- [Why Join a High School Research Programme](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/blog/why-joining-a-summer-research-programme-or-exploring-research-opportunities-during-the-school-year-can-transform-your-future): How a summer research programme or school-year research opportunity can transform a high school student's academic and career path.
- [Business Research for High School Students](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/blog/research-without-the-white-coat-how-business-research-proves-intellectual-rigour-to-colleges): How business research proves intellectual rigour to colleges — even without a lab coat — through Hinksey Labs' research programmes.
- [Passion Projects: What Colleges Look For](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/blog/what-makes-a-strong-passion-project-for-college-applications): What actually makes a high school passion project strong, what Stanford, Harvard, Penn and Yale say about activities, and five mistakes to avoid.
- [How to Start a Passion Project in 90 Days](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/blog/how-to-start-a-passion-project-90-day-plan-for-high-school-students): A step-by-step guide for high school students: find your idea, use AI to brainstorm, score it honestly, and finish a passion project in 90 days.
- [High School Extracurriculars: The Guide](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/blog/the-guide-to-extracurriculars): What MIT, Stanford, Yale, and Common App say about choosing extracurriculars, going deeper rather than joining more, and telling your story well.
- [High School Research Programmes: The Guide](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/blog/the-high-school-research-playbook): Why research matters, and which STEM, AI, business, and social science research programmes for high school students are worth knowing about.
- [Comparing High School Research Programmes](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/blog/how-to-choose-a-research-programme-polygence-lumiere-ccir-hinksey-labs-and-more-compared): How research programmes for high school students compare - Lumiere, Polygence, CCIR, Pioneer Academics, Inspirit AI, Veritas AI, and Hinksey Labs.
- [High School Passion Project Playbook](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/blog/the-hinksey-passion-project-playbook): A practical playbook for high school students: what makes a passion project strong, how to find your idea, and how to actually finish it.
- [High School Extracurriculars Playbook](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/blog/the-hinksey-extracurriculars-playbook): A practical playbook for high school students: how to choose extracurriculars, go deeper into what matters, and communicate what you've done.
- [High School Research Playbook: How to Start](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/blog/the-hinksey-high-school-research-playbook): A practical guide for high school students: what research actually looks like, how to find the right opportunity, and how to get started.

## Hinksey Clubs
- [The Menor Hinksey Club](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/club-menor)
- [The Camden Hinksey Club](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/club-camden)
- [The Weber Hinksey Club](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/club-weber)
- [The Flatbush Hinksey Club](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/club-flatbush)
- [The Hyderabad Hinksey Club](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/club-hyderabad)

## Pages
- [Apply](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/application)
- [Hinksey Clubs](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/clubs)
- [Business Essay Competition](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/competition)
- [Contact](https://www.hinkseylabs.com/contact)