Real-World Project Experience

Join us! Solve a real challenge for a real company, build a portfolio piece, and earn a completion stipend.

About this Program

The Capstone Real-World Project Experience is a six-week, team-based program where students and early-career professionals take on an actual business challenge submitted by a partner company. You work alongside a small team, conduct your own original research, develop real recommendations, and present your work. You walk away with a portfolio-ready project, a digital credential, and a $500 completion stipend.

This is hands-on, not theoretical. You bring the thinking. We bring the companies, the coaching, and the structure.

Program Details

Dates:

  • June 22nd to August 3rd

Live Sessions: Wednesdays · 4:30–5:30 PM ET

Duration: 6 weeks · 3–4 hrs/week

Format: Hybrid (Green Career Essentials + live cohort project experience)

Audience: Students and recent graduates pursuing sustainability, climate, nonprofit, energy, operations, or impact-related career pathways

Cost: Free Summer 2026 Cohort Enrollment

Support: Peer collaboration, live facilitation, project templates, guest speakers, and mentor feedback help participants stay connected, accountable, and professionally supported.

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Your Experience

  • Work in a team of 4 to 5 on a real challenge from a partner company

  • Conduct original research and build a recommendation your team owns end to end

  • Drop in to weekly office hours to brainstorm and get unstuck

  • Present your progress at biweekly research reviews and defend your thinking live

  • Get real feedback from the partner company on your team’s work as it develops

  • Deliver a final showcase to close out the project

  • Build a portfolio piece you can actually talk about in interviews

What You’ll Walk Away With

  • A completed, real-world project for your portfolio

  • A Capstone Completion digital badge (Credly)

  • A $500 completion stipend

  • Direct feedback from a real company on work you produced

  • The confidence to talk about real project work in interviews and networking

Program Structure

  • Teams of 4 to 5, grouped by interest area

  • Weekly drop-in office hours for coaching and brainstorming

  • Biweekly research reviews in weeks 2, 4, and 6, where your team presents and defends its thinking

  • A partner company that stays close to your work and weighs in throughout

  • Final showcase in Week 6

Before You Start:

This capstone builds on the free Green Career Essentials (GCE) course. You complete the GCE foundations module before the cohort begins, which is how we make sure everyone starts on the same page. The $500 stipend is paid upon completion. A few eligibility details are confirmed on the registration form.