This Winter break. For 14-16 year olds

A four days, immersive course for 14-16 year olds to connect to their talents, build work-ready skills and grow their professional network, in pursuit of authentic and fulfilling careers.

Skills for the
Future Academy

28-31 Dec

Hosted at Chanakya University

4 days. Live. Expertly facilitated.

By IKiGAi DATA. Own your present. Master your future.

THE OUTCOME

What students walk away with

Four days of fast-paced, hands-on and expertly facilitated programming that changes how your 14–16 year olds see their own potential and unique opportunities for life after school.

A compass

A personalised plan, aligned to their unique talents and aspirations, clarifying their subjects and pathways choices.

Confidence

The confidence and practice for pitching themselves and their authentic story with conviction, to any room.

Connection

Diverse, professional mentors and a peer network: the start of a professional circle.

Advantage

An honest grasp of how AI is reshaping work and the demand for skills and a portfolio built around it.

THE IDEA AT THE CORE

Ikigai: your reason for being

Achieving a healthy, fulfilling career life is everyone’s right - and responsibility.

Our bespoke career guidance tools and experiences help young people find and manage their Ikigai: their reason for being. 

With this, they can meaningfully connect to the real world, commit to ambitious goals and develop into capable contributors.

THE DIFFERENCE

We are not another holidays bootcamp

Fronted with peers and experts, the learning in the Academy is participatory, collaborative and action-biased.

Fronted by experts

The sessions are led by senior practitioners and industry mentors, not generalists. So your students learn from people who have done the work.

Live and grounded in the real World

We avoid slides and privilege action. The learning happens through challenges, working groups, live pitches and faculty presentations, alongside moments of personal exploration and reflection. The content is built from the live job market and recent industry case studies, not vague career frameworks.

For authentic leadership

Unlike traditional offerings, the ethos of the Academy is firmly grounded in the belief that future leaders will require even greater sense of purpose to apply their unique judgement in a fast-changing, complex world.

With a stronger sense of purpose, learners meaningfully connect to the real world, commit to ambitious goals and develop into capable contributors.

Achieving tangible outcomes

At the end of the course, students will have built a personal Portfolio and Pitch, demonstrable skills and a new professional network.

THE PEOPLE BEHIND IT

Faculty and mentors

Led by founders and industry executives who have coached at scale and supported by a curated network of industry mentors in tech, finance, education, the creative industries and more.

Gaia Ines Fassò

FOUNDER & MD, IKiGAi DATA.

LSE MSc. 20+ years’ tech & innovation exec. Founder and CEO, coaching 1L+ students on high- value careers.

Jigyasa Labroo

FOUNDER & CEO, Slam Out Loud

Harvard Ed.M. and Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia. CEO of award-winning education NGO Slam Out Loud.

Plus our curated network of industry mentors

Professionals working in Bangalore, from across industries form the start of every student's professional network.

Apply early to secure a spot!

And sign up for our upcoming live, information Webinar.

Tuesday 22 September, 6:00PM IST

Get in touch to find out more

Gaia Ines Fassò ➡️ g.fasso@ikigaidata.com

THE WEEK

The Journey we crafted for your students

Three movements: from looking inward, to connecting to the real world of work, to a concrete plan for how to move forward with renewed clarity and confidence

1

DISCOVERING MY PURPOSE

Who am I? What am I good at? What skills do I need?

  • Purpose reflection & mapping

  • Mapping my talents

  • Storytelling: building & sharing my story

“I now feel a renewed sense of energy and positivity about my future. It has become much easier to pitch myself with confidence.” Yemi, past participant

2

EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES

What’s out there? What’s changing? What resonates?

  • Future of Work & skills scanning

  • Leadership and team challenges

  • Honing future-ready skills

“It helped me discover my true passions and has guided me to a variety of different pathways I can enjoy." Ava, past participant

3

MY PATH FORWARD

What pathways align more strongly? And what now?

  • Dragons Den pitching

  • Mentoring day

  • A personalised plan and portfolio built around it

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCES

Two things that set us apart

🧩

Student-centered mentoring

We reverse the script, building young students’ confidence to work and learn with, not just from, the professionals in the world of work. Our professional mentors pitch their stories and careers to the students. Students then choose whom to interview and seek advice from.

📌

Live CANVAS and personalised plan

Using IKiGAi DATA's career-mapping tool, students, with mentors, map their talents, interests and ambitions against target careers, building confidence and trust-based relationships both ways. Each student received a personalised plan and a parents’ guide to continue the conversation at home. 

Students leave with an emerging personal Canvas and a personalised, short- and medium-term action plan they have drafted with experts and professionals.

THE ESSENTIALS

Joining Information

DATES

28-31 Dec 2026. 4 Days.

VENUE

Chanakya University, Bengaluru

WHO IT’S FOR

Students aged 14-16 (with some flexibility)

RECOGNITION

Certificate by Chanakya University

₹ 29,000

Includes full tuition, all facilitated sessions, the team challenge, mentoring and the Chanakya University certificate.

FULL TUITION

THE LEARNING

The Future-ready skills it builds

Taking charge. of their career and working on real-life challenges with their peers, young people hone the human skills that we need in the AI world of work

Empathy

Situational judgement

Design Thinking

Creative ideation

Resilience in ambiguity

Communication & Presentation

Self-management & Initiative

Collaborative Problem-solving

Skills for the Future Academy

Application Form

Please use this form to tell us a bit about yourself and your interest in the Academy. We warmly invite you to not use AI for writing your answer: your application will be assessed based on the authenticity of your responses.