Cornell Tech is Cornell University's applied sciences campus on Roosevelt Island — designed specifically for the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship, and real-world impact. The Summer Innovation Intensives bring that environment to high school students for the first time: three weeks on campus, working alongside faculty who are actively shaping the AI era, on problems that aren't hypothetical.
Program Overview
The program runs Monday–Thursday, 9am–5pm, for three weeks in July. No housing is provided — students commute daily — and the program is open to students ages 15–19 who have completed at least their sophomore year of high school. Recent graduates (ages 18–19) are also eligible.
Each morning, students select one of three academic tracks:
- Engineering Operations: Data Science and Decision-Making — algorithms, optimization, and the math behind real-world decisions, from traffic routing to sports analytics. Students must have completed precalculus before the program begins.
- Interacting with AI — how AI shapes human psychology, communication, and online communities, with a focus on what it means for people to maintain agency alongside these tools.
- Ethical Vibe Coding — building apps using AI tools, with an emphasis on bias, values, and what it actually means to build responsibly. No prior coding experience required.
Each afternoon, all students join Future Builders Studio, guided by Cornell Tech faculty. Over three weeks, they move through problem identification, user-centered design, AI integration, and prototyping — culminating in a public showcase on campus.
Students who complete the program earn two Cornell University credits.
Taught by Cornell Tech Faculty
This is worth pausing on. Each track is designed and led by Cornell Tech professors and researchers — not grad students, not outside instructors brought in for the summer. The data science track is led by Professors David Shmoys and Omar El Housni. The AI and human behavior track draws on the expertise of faculty including Mor Naaman, Michael Macy, and Helen Nissenbaum. Ethical Vibe Coding is advised by Professors Wendy Ju and Angelique Taylor. Future Builders Studio is led by Professor Karan Girotra, one of Cornell Tech's leading voices on innovation and entrepreneurship. For a high school summer program, this level of faculty involvement is genuinely uncommon.
The Final Showcase
The program ends with a public showcase on Cornell Tech's Roosevelt Island campus, where students present their AI-powered projects to faculty and guests. This isn't a classroom exercise — it's a real presentation of original work, built from scratch over three weeks, in front of an audience that knows the field. Your child leaves with something to show for it: a project, a portfolio moment, and a much clearer sense of what building in tech actually feels like.
Who It's For
The teen who has strong opinions about how technology should work — not just how it does. A particularly strong fit for students drawn to the ethics of tech, not just the mechanics; who want to understand why AI systems fail people, or how to build something that doesn't. Also well-suited for the entrepreneurially minded student who wants a real taste of what a graduate-level innovation environment feels like.
Application & Eligibility
Admission is selective, with applications reviewed on a rolling basis starting in February. Required materials include a transcript, two letters of recommendation, a resume, and two short essays. No minimum GPA is required, though the program notes that students with a B+ average or higher tend to be well-prepared for the college-level coursework.
Cost & Information
- Program dates: July 13–30 (Monday–Thursday)
- Tuition: $6,500; $5,500 discount if $500 deposit received by April 30
- Application fee: $45
- Credits earned: 2 Cornell University credits
Scholarships & Financial Aid
Financial aid, fee waivers, and scholarships are not currently available for this program.