Riipen FuturePath Program: Key Dates
Riipen FuturePath connects businesses with the brightest emerging talent, creating a direct pathway from education to employment. Students gain real-world experience, build essential skills, and establish career connections with top employers. For businesses, it’s a chance to fuel innovation, access fresh perspectives, and secure top talent before they enter the workforce. This article details important dates for both students and employers depending on which cohort you are participating in.
What is a Cohort?
A cohort refers to a group of students who participate in a specific term of the Riipen FuturePath program. Each cohort operates within set dates, during which students engage with employer projects. This structure allows for organized timelines and ensures that students and employers can collaborate effectively. Students and employers must apply to participate in each cohort.
Projects cannot last longer than 16 weeks.
Projects will start and end between the following dates for the cohorts:
Bring Your Own 2026-2027 Cohort
Project Start Date Range: April 20th, 2026 - March 30th, 2027
Project End Date Range: April 27th, 2026 - May 7th, 2027
Spring 2026 Cohort
Project Start Date Range: May 4th - August 24th, 2026
Project End Date Range: May 11th - December 18th, 2026
Fall 2026 Cohort
Project Start Date Range: September 21st, 2026 - January 4th, 2027
Project End Date Range: September 28th, 2026 - April 30th, 2027
Winter 2027 Cohort
Project Start Date Range: January 25th - March 30th, 2027
Project End Date Range: March 22nd - May 7th, 2027
Dates and cohort availability are subject to change.
Bring Your Own 2026-2027 Cohort
Bring Your Own 2026-2027 Cohort
Projects must align with following cohort schedule:
April 6th, 2026:
Cohort opens for Employer Projects
Employers with a student in mind that they would like to work with on a FuturePath project are invited to request to match with the Bring Your Own cohort, providing the name and email address of the student(s) that they are looking to work with!
Ongoing Throughout the Cohort:
Students Invited to Onboard and Verify
Once a project has been matched to a cohort, the Student Success Team will reach out to the student(s) mentioned on the match request and provide them with all the onboarding material.
Ongoing Throughout the Cohort:
Students Invited to Cohort
Once the onboarding course and verification have been completed, students are invited to the cohort and are invited to apply to their employers project.
April 20th, 2026 - May 7th, 2027
Project Run Time
Projects are invited to start between April 20th, 2026 - March 30th, 2027 and must end between April 27th, 2026 - May 7th, 2027, never extending past a 16 week maximum.
April 30th, 2026 - May 30th, 2027
Project Payment Period
Invoices will be paid throughout the course of the cohort, within 4 weeks of being submitted so long as all necessary information has been provided.
Spring 2026 Cohort
Spring 2026 Cohort
Projects must align with following cohort schedule:
April 7th, 2026:
Students Eligibility and Application Forms Opens
Students are invited to confirm their eligibility, and indicate interest through the eligibility form.
April 13th, 2026:
Cohort opens for Employer Projects
Employers are invited to request to match their projects to the Spring 2026 Cohort. Visit How to Apply to FuturePath: Employers for more details.
April 22nd - 29th, 2026:
Students Verification Period
Students who are successful in the application process will receive their official invitations to complete their verification within this set period, set up their profile and prepare themselves to apply!
May 4th, 2026:
Students Invited to the Cohort
Students will be invited to the cohort, and can begin applying to projects. You can apply to up to 5 projects. Projects will continue to come into the cohort from April 13th until August 10th allowing students to constantly be looking for the best project that suits them!
August 10th, 2026:
Last Day for Employers to Request a Project Match
Employers must submit their requests for student matches by this date to participate in the final project matching period. This includes signing the program agreements, providing your credit card information, verifying your identity and confirming the match to the experience.
May 4th - August 24th, 2026:
Project Start Date Window
Projects must start within this window. Students and employers must start their collaboration within this date range. Students must complete the onboarding survey and hit “Start” in the platform in order to confirm the project's participation in the cohort.
May 11th - December 18th, 2026:
Project End Date Window
All projects must be completed within this date range. Projects must be completed within 16 weeks from their starting date. Exceeding 16 weeks may result in the project not being eligible for payment. Visit Guide for completing a Riipen FuturePath project for more details.
By February 5th, 2027:
Payment Period
Every 15 hours, an invoice will be generated throughout the project. Payments will be processed throughout the cohort, with the last payment date being no later than February 5th, 2027.
Visit Payments for more details.
Fall 2026 Cohort
Fall 2026 Cohort
Projects must align with following cohort schedule:
June 15th, 2026:
Cohort opens for Employer Projects
Employers are invited to request to match their projects to the Fall 2026 Cohort. A reminder that students will not begin applying to projects until September 14th. Visit How to Apply to FuturePath: Employers for more details.
August 10th, 2026:
Students Eligibility and Application Forms Opens
Students are invited to confirm their eligibility, and indicate interest through the eligibility form.
September 2nd - September 9th, 2026:
Students Verification Period
Students who are successful in the application process will receive their official invitations to complete their verification within this set period, set up their profile and prepare themselves to apply!
September 14th, 2026:
Students Invited to the Cohort
Students will be invited to the cohort, and can begin applying to projects. You can apply to up to 5 projects. Projects will continue to come into the cohort from September 14th until December 7th allowing students to constantly be looking for the best project that suits them!
December 7th, 2026:
Last Day for Employers to Request a Project Match
Employers must submit their requests for student matches by this date to participate in the final project matching period. This includes signing the program agreements, providing your credit card information, verifying your identity and confirming the match to the experience.
September 21st, 2026 - January 4th, 2027:
Project Start Date Window
Projects must start within this window. Students and employers must start their collaboration within this date range. Students must complete the onboarding survey and hit “Start” in the platform in order to confirm the project's participation in the cohort.
September 28th, 2026 - April 30th, 2027:
Project End Date Window
All projects must be completed within this date range. Projects must be completed within 16 weeks from their starting date. Exceeding 16 weeks may result in the project not being eligible for payment. Visit Guide for completing a Riipen FuturePath project for more details.
By May 28th, 2027:
Payment Period
Every 15 hours, an invoice will be generated throughout the project. Payments will be processed throughout the cohort, with the last payment date being no later than May 28th, 2027.
Visit Payments for more details.
Winter 2027 Cohort
Winter 2027 Cohort
Projects must align with following cohort schedule:
August 10th, 2026:
Cohort opens for Employer Projects
Employers are invited to request to match their projects to the Fall 2026 Cohort. A reminder that students will not begin applying to projects until September 14th. Visit How to Apply to FuturePath: Employers for more details.
November 30th, 2026:
Students Eligibility and Application Forms Opens
Students are invited to confirm their eligibility, and indicate interest through the eligibility form.
January 6th - 13th, 2027:
Students Verification Period
Students who are successful in the application process will receive their official invitations to complete their verification within this set period, set up their profile and prepare themselves to apply!
January 18th, 2027:
Students Invited to the Cohort
Students will be invited to the cohort, and can begin applying to projects. You can apply to up to 5 projects. Projects will continue to come into the cohort from January 18th until March 15th allowing students to constantly be looking for the best project that suits them!
March 15th, 2027:
Last Day for Employers to Request a Project Match
Employers must submit their requests for student matches by this date to participate in the final project matching period. This includes signing the program agreements, providing your credit card information, verifying your identity and confirming the match to the experience.
January 25th - March 30th, 2027:
Project Start Date Window
Projects must start within this window. Students and employers must start their collaboration within this date range. Students must complete the onboarding survey and hit “Start” in the platform in order to confirm the project's participation in the cohort.
March 22nd - May 7th, 2027:
Project End Date Window
All projects must be completed within this date range. Projects must be completed within 16 weeks from their starting date. Exceeding 16 weeks may result in the project not being eligible for payment. Visit Guide for completing a Riipen FuturePath project for more details.
By May 28th, 2027:
Payment Period
Every 15 hours, an invoice will be generated throughout the project. Payments will be processed throughout the cohort, with the last payment date being no later than May 28th, 2027.
Visit Payments for more details.
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