Riipen Labs FAQs

Riipen Labs is a structured, short-term experiential learning program designed to help students build practical skills through guided, team-based projects.

Funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Innovative Work-Integrated Learning initiative, the program provides:

Projects are designed to simulate real work scenarios while remaining supported and clearly scoped.

To participate in Riipen Labs, students must:

Eligibility is verified and required for payment.

Students must apply to a cohort and, if selected, will be assigned to a project team.

Helpful guides are available in the Help Centre, including:

There is no employer selection process in Labs. Assignment is managed by Riipen.

Riipen Labs is a government-funded program.

Identity verification is required to:

Failure to complete verification will result in ineligibility for payment.

Work beyond 30 hours is not compensated.

Milestones are mandatory checkpoints throughout the project.

Extensions are not permitted under any circumstances.

Missing any milestone or required deadline will result in:

These deadlines are strict due to funding requirements.

Students receive $600 upon successful completion of all requirements.

To be eligible, students must:

Partial completion is not compensated.

Students must submit all required deliverables through the Riipen platform, including:

Deliverables must:

Failure to submit complete deliverables will result in loss of payment eligibility.

Riipen Labs is a team-based experience.

Students are expected to:

If a team member is unresponsive:

Your eligibility for payment depends on your own participation and completion.

Riipen Labs is a low-touch employer experience.

All project work is guided through provided materials and structure.

Yes, AI can be used as a support tool.

However:

You may be required to demonstrate your process and contribution.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes. Additional information will be shared later in the cohort, around Week 3.

If you:

You will be:

Staying active is required to remain in the program.

Riipen Labs is designed as a starting point.

After completion, students often progress to:

These programs offer longer, employer-connected experiences.

The full participation agreement is available in the Help Centre.

Students are responsible for reviewing and understanding all requirements prior to participating.

All deadlines are based on EDT (Eastern Daylight Time).

​What time are milestones due?

Unless otherwise specified, milestones are due by 11:59 PM EDT on the stated deadline date.

​What is the difference between EST and EDT?

The platform currently uses EDT.

Use the messaging/chat feature available on the platform.

If you’re unable to access your team chat or believe something is missing, contact:

labs@riipen.com

No. Discord is optional and not required for participation.

If communication breaks down or a teammate is not cooperating, the expectation is to keep progressing with your work professionally and respectfully. This is also part of preparing for real-world team environments, where clear communication and conflict management are important skills.

If a teammate becomes unresponsive or leaves the project, continue moving forward with your assigned role and responsibilities. You will not be penalized for their lack of participation.

You should:

No. Individual payment and progress are based on your own participation and completion requirements.

What situations could affect payment eligibility?

To remain eligible for payment, students should:

If you have specific concerns about payment eligibility, contact the Riipen Labs team directly.

Each student is responsible for completing and submitting their own milestones.

No. Milestones should be completed in the order presented.

Yes.

Missing a milestone deadline WILL result in removal from the cohort.

Follow the instructions provided within each milestone. Only upload a file if the milestone instructions specifically request one.

No specific word count was provided. Focus on providing thoughtful and complete responses.

Learn all about roles using the “How Do Roles Work in Labs?” resource.

No, teams should work together to assign roles appropriately. If multiple people are interested in the same role, discuss and decide as a team.

Yes, role changes are allowed during the project, as long as your team agrees to the change. This helps ensure roles remain balanced and avoids multiple team members holding the same responsibility.

However, roles should ideally be finalized by the beginning of Week 2 so the team can focus on executing the project and making steady progress without ongoing changes.

Yes.

Think of milestones as your deliverables and work logs as your timesheet.

Navigate to: Experiences → Team → Work Log

As soon as you begin working on project-related activities.

Yes, within reason. If you spend time actively working on a milestone, you should log that time.

For example, if you spend time researching in order to answer a milestone question such as “Define: What is your employer trying to solve?”, you can log both the research and the time spent completing your response.

However, simply logging passive activity (e.g., “reading the milestone”) does not count as valid work. Work logs should reflect meaningful effort and contribution toward completing the milestone. All work logs are reviewed by the team for accuracy.

Yes.

Include:

Your work log should clearly describe the activities you completed, the work you contributed, and how your time was spent.

Example:

Reviewed the project brief, researched competitor solutions, and drafted initial project recommendations. Met with teammates to discuss role assignments and align on our project approach.

If you are logging time for the Orientation or Employer Kickoff, it is best to connect it to the work completed as a result of those sessions, below is a great depiction of how this can be done.

Yes.

No. You must complete and log 30 hours of work to be eligible for payment. Partial completion will not be compensated. Additionally, completion of Milestones more than 2 days prior to the due date will result in removal from the project, as this project has been paced in a specific manner.

Yes. The orientation recording and slides will be shared under the Announcements section of the platform after the session, by EOD.

You can access the Course Readiness Videos on the platform after joining the project. They can be found in the Resources section.

The project brief is located within your project page.

Where can I find the checklist?

The checklist can be found in the Resources section.

Yes. Participation in the Employer Kickoff is an important project requirement.

If you cannot attend due to a scheduling conflict, you should watch the recording and complete the required milestone by the deadline.

Yes. A recording will be made available for students at the end of day.

Can I log Employer Kickoff time in my work log?

Yes. Time spent attending or reviewing the Employer Kickoff can be included in your work log.

Here is a link to discord - https://discord.com/invite/C2Un9nDTKc

If you experience issues joining Discord, contact the Riipen Labs team for assistance.

Program updates are generally communicated through official Riipen channels. Discord may provide additional community updates, but students should monitor official communications for important announcements.

labs@riipen.com

The Riipen Labs team can assist with project assignments, milestones, work logs, team issues, eligibility questions, and technical concerns. Due to the high volume of inquiries, allow 2 - 4 business days for the team to respond.