Loading page

Loading Squirrels Tech

Research bootcamps

From foundations to presenting original work.

Intensive AI & ML research bootcamps that prepare you to design experiments, build projects, and share findings — with supervised mentors, not alone.

We believe students learn AI best by asking real questions, running experiments, and sharing what they find — with mentors who guide, never gatekeep. Every bootcamp is free.

Apply to a bootcamp

Research bootcamps

Intensive programs

Each bootcamp combines live sessions, mentor supervision, and a research or build phase — designed to accelerate your journey from learning to presenting original work.

Beginner–IntermediateOpen for applications

8 weeks + 12 weeks mentor research

AI High School Research Bootcamp

Research fundamentals for school students

An eight-week introduction to how research works in AI — framing questions, reading papers at your level, running small experiments, and preparing a poster for Demo Day or a science fair.

Outcome: Research poster & Demo Day presentation

Intro to AI & MLReading research papersHypothesis & experiment designPoster & presentation

25+ students reached

Apply Learn more →

IntermediateOpen for applications

6 weeks + 8 weeks research

Generative AI Research Bootcamp

LLMs, evaluation, and responsible GenAI projects

Six weeks on how large language models work, how to evaluate outputs, and how to design a small GenAI research project — followed by an eight-week guided build with weekly mentor check-ins.

Outcome: GenAI mini-project & technical summary

LLM fundamentalsPrompt engineeringBias & safety evaluationProject iteration

Open for applications

Apply Learn more →

IntermediateOpen for applications

4 months · weekly labs

Applied ML Research Bootcamp

Train, evaluate, and document ML experiments

A four-month program covering data preparation, model training, evaluation metrics, and writing up results — modeled on how university labs run applied ML projects, adapted for motivated teens and college students.

Outcome: Documented ML experiment & repo

Data & preprocessingModel selectionEvaluation & ablationReproducibility

30+ project teams

Apply Learn more →

Beginner–IntermediateOpen for applications

4 months · intensive

Computer Vision Research Bootcamp

From pixels to working vision models

Four months to build foundations in computer vision, work on an impactful student-chosen problem, and present findings — classification, detection, or multimodal experiments with mentor guidance.

Outcome: CV project & presentation

Image fundamentalsCNNs & transfer learningDataset curationError analysis

Open for applications

Apply Learn more →

BeginnerOpen for applications

6 weeks · 2 sessions/week

Responsible AI Research Bootcamp

Bias, fairness, and policy-aware AI studies

Six weeks focused on researching how AI affects communities — case studies, fairness audits, consent frameworks, and a written policy brief or presentation suitable for school or community forums.

Outcome: Policy brief or research presentation

AI & societyBias & fairness auditsPrivacy & consentCommunity impact

No coding prerequisite

Apply Learn more →

Waitlist open

IntermediateWaitlist

8 weeks · sprint + write-up

Build & Publish Research Bootcamp

Ship a prototype and write it up

Eight weeks to take a Build Lab–style project from problem statement to working prototype, plus a structured technical write-up and Demo Day presentation — our bridge from building to sharing research-quality work.

Outcome: Prototype + technical report

Problem discoveryArchitecture & buildTesting & iterationTechnical writing

Waitlist · alumni priority

Join waitlist Learn more →

Areas of investigation

Research tracks across bootcamps

Each bootcamp focuses on dedicated research themes — explore the areas that match your interests.

Research foundations

Question framing, literature review, hypothesis design, and ethical research practice.

AI High School Research
Responsible AI Research

Generative AI

LLMs, prompt engineering, evaluation, and building responsible GenAI mini-projects.

Generative AI Research

Applied machine learning

Datasets, training pipelines, model evaluation, and reproducible experiments.

Applied ML Research
Computer Vision Research

Build & publish

Ship working prototypes, write technical summaries, and present at Demo Day.

Build & Publish Research

How research bootcamps work

01
Apply & join a cohort
Tell us your level and interests. We place you in a supervised group with a clear syllabus.
02
Learn foundations live
Weekly sessions on methods, tools, and responsible practice — with reading from our library.
03
Run your research phase
Design an experiment or project with mentor check-ins. No private unmonitored messaging.
04
Present & reflect
Share a poster, brief, or demo at Demo Day — only with your consent.

Year-round programs

Need a longer cohort instead?

Research bootcamps are intensive sprints. For weekly Code Clubs or the AI Literacy Fellowship, browse our full cohort programs.

Cohort programs Course library

Loading page

Research bootcamps

From foundations to presenting original work.

Intensive AI & ML research bootcamps that prepare you to design experiments, build projects, and share findings — with supervised mentors, not alone.

We believe students learn AI best by asking real questions, running experiments, and sharing what they find — with mentors who guide, never gatekeep. Every bootcamp is free.

Apply to a bootcamp

Research bootcamps

Intensive programs

Each bootcamp combines live sessions, mentor supervision, and a research or build phase — designed to accelerate your journey from learning to presenting original work.

Beginner–IntermediateOpen for applications

8 weeks + 12 weeks mentor research

AI High School Research Bootcamp

Research fundamentals for school students

An eight-week introduction to how research works in AI — framing questions, reading papers at your level, running small experiments, and preparing a poster for Demo Day or a science fair.

Outcome: Research poster & Demo Day presentation

Intro to AI & MLReading research papersHypothesis & experiment designPoster & presentation

25+ students reached

Apply Learn more →

IntermediateOpen for applications

6 weeks + 8 weeks research

Generative AI Research Bootcamp

LLMs, evaluation, and responsible GenAI projects

Six weeks on how large language models work, how to evaluate outputs, and how to design a small GenAI research project — followed by an eight-week guided build with weekly mentor check-ins.

Outcome: GenAI mini-project & technical summary

LLM fundamentalsPrompt engineeringBias & safety evaluationProject iteration

Open for applications

Apply Learn more →

IntermediateOpen for applications

4 months · weekly labs

Applied ML Research Bootcamp

Train, evaluate, and document ML experiments

Outcome: Documented ML experiment & repo

Data & preprocessingModel selectionEvaluation & ablationReproducibility

30+ project teams

Apply Learn more →

Beginner–IntermediateOpen for applications

4 months · intensive

Computer Vision Research Bootcamp

From pixels to working vision models

Four months to build foundations in computer vision, work on an impactful student-chosen problem, and present findings — classification, detection, or multimodal experiments with mentor guidance.

Outcome: CV project & presentation

Image fundamentalsCNNs & transfer learningDataset curationError analysis

Open for applications

Apply Learn more →

BeginnerOpen for applications

6 weeks · 2 sessions/week

Responsible AI Research Bootcamp

Bias, fairness, and policy-aware AI studies

Six weeks focused on researching how AI affects communities — case studies, fairness audits, consent frameworks, and a written policy brief or presentation suitable for school or community forums.

Outcome: Policy brief or research presentation

AI & societyBias & fairness auditsPrivacy & consentCommunity impact

No coding prerequisite

Apply Learn more →

Waitlist open

IntermediateWaitlist

8 weeks · sprint + write-up

Build & Publish Research Bootcamp

Ship a prototype and write it up

Outcome: Prototype + technical report

Problem discoveryArchitecture & buildTesting & iterationTechnical writing

Waitlist · alumni priority

Join waitlist Learn more →

Areas of investigation

Research tracks across bootcamps

Each bootcamp focuses on dedicated research themes — explore the areas that match your interests.

Research foundations

Question framing, literature review, hypothesis design, and ethical research practice.

AI High School Research
Responsible AI Research

Generative AI

LLMs, prompt engineering, evaluation, and building responsible GenAI mini-projects.

Generative AI Research

Applied machine learning

Datasets, training pipelines, model evaluation, and reproducible experiments.

Applied ML Research
Computer Vision Research

Build & publish

Ship working prototypes, write technical summaries, and present at Demo Day.

Build & Publish Research

How research bootcamps work

01
Apply & join a cohort
Tell us your level and interests. We place you in a supervised group with a clear syllabus.
02
Learn foundations live
Weekly sessions on methods, tools, and responsible practice — with reading from our library.
03
Run your research phase
Design an experiment or project with mentor check-ins. No private unmonitored messaging.
04
Present & reflect
Share a poster, brief, or demo at Demo Day — only with your consent.

Year-round programs

Need a longer cohort instead?

Research bootcamps are intensive sprints. For weekly Code Clubs or the AI Literacy Fellowship, browse our full cohort programs.

Cohort programs Course library