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:
Project Start Date Range: April 20th, 2026 - March 30th, 2027
Project End Date Range: April 27th, 2026 - May 7th, 2027
Project Start Date Range: May 4th - August 24th, 2026
Project End Date Range: May 11th - December 18th, 2026
Dates and cohort availability are subject to change.
Bring Your Own 2026-2027 Cohort
Date | Milestone | For |
April 6, 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! | Employer |
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. | Student |
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. | Student |
April 20, 2026 - May 7, 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. | Student & Employer |
April 30, 2026 - May 30, 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. | Student & Employer |
Spring 2026 Cohort
Date | Milestone | For |
April 7, 2026 | Students Eligibility and Application Forms Open. Students are invited to confirm their eligibility, and indicate interest through the eligibility form. | Student |
April 13, 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. | Employer |
April 22 - 29, 2026 | Student 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! | Student |
May 4, 2026 | Students Invited to 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! | Student |
August 10, 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. | Employer |
May 4 - August 24, 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. | Student & Employer |
May 11 - December 18, 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. | Student & Employer |
By February 5, 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. | Student & Employer |
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