Get a headstart on your future
- Delivered online, open to any school anywhere
- Six weeks, live + real-world industry learning
- Assessed and curriculum-aligned, so it substitutes a subject
- 100% founder-led, investor-led with a network of mentors
- Recognised for university-level academic credit at Monash Business School
Trusted by students from schools across Australia
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The innovation program for Restless students
FutureHack is a six-week program where Year 10–12 students gain real-world skills, build a real business idea, and learn from mentors at companies like Microsoft, ending in a pitch to real industry. It's for students who like tech, business and building things. For students who've never seen themselves in the pathways school laid out. And for students who want to leave Year 12 with more than a score
Choose your next step
Building a business or venture will tell you more than any careers night. You’ll get the mentors, the industry context and the real experience to work out a path that actually suits you, instead of choosing a degree and hoping.
Immerse yourself in industry
Our secret sauce is 100% real world and industry learning. That means founders in front of you every week, meeting investors and pitching to judges from across Australia who can back your ideas.
Accelerate your job-readiness
By the end, you’ll have a business idea, an early-stage pitch, a mentor, and something real to put in front of an employer or a university. That holds whether you go to uni, explore new careers or decide to go all-in on business.
How does it work?
Every part of FutureHack is built to unlock the future-ready skills young people need, from real founder interviews to live masterclasses to pitching in front of real investors. It's hands-on, it's real, and it's designed for the way you actually learn.
Self-paced videos that go deeper
Learn at your own pace, whenever it suits you. You'll hear from honest interviews with real founders, unfiltered fireside chats, and behind-the-scenes case studies of Australia's biggest companies. It's a real look at how businesses actually work, not textbook theory.
Cohort-based, interactive learning
Join six live online masterclasses where you go deep and sharpen your business in real time. You'll join a tight-knit cohort, building alongside ambitious young founders and meeting peers from every corner of Australia. You're part of a community figuring it out together, live.
Coached by founders, investors and operators
Meet the founders and operators who've actually built businesses. Pitch them your idea, ask the hard questions, and leave with advice you can use tomorrow. You’ll get exclusive access to the brightest minds in Australia.
Stackable credentials toward your degree
Upon successful completion, you’ll receive an official Certificate of Completion from Future Minds Network and an Australian university, in the Top 50 global rankings.
FutureHack can also be recognised as a university-level academic credit to accelerate your degree, depending on your individual pathway and course rules at participating universities.
Microgrants to keep scaling (cohort-specific)
Winning teams get hands-on backing to keep building what they've started, and in cohorts with a fund attached, microgrants to help them scale.
It's the kind of early support that turns a good idea into a real venture, the head start most founders never get.
Program Curriculum
Follow a structured learning journey designed to build skills, track progress, and support continuous growth at every stage.
Problem Discovery
Learn to think like a founder and find problems worth solving.
Unlocking a real entrepreneurial mindset
Solving genuine real-world problems
Exploring market trends and emerging opportunities
Design Thinking & Innovation
Get inside your customer's head and understand what they really want.
Applying human-centred design to real ideas
Understanding customer needs, motivations and pain points
Rapid ideation, testing and validation
Business Models & MVPs
Transform your idea into a viable business using the tools real founders use.
Business structures and scalable business models
Funding, capital and how founders raise it
Building a minimum viable product (MVP)
Prototyping, testing and real customer feedback
Branding & Marketing
Get your venture seen by the right people and audience.
Choosing the right marketing channels
Marketing strategy and customer segmentation
Building a standout personal and professional brand
Pitching & Communication
Learn to tell your story and communicate with confidence.
Storytelling and communication techniques that stick
Delivering engaging, creative and persuasive pitches
Speaking with genuine confidence and presence
Demo Day & Showcase
Finish the program by pitching your venture live at Demo Day.
Presenting your venture to real investors, mentors and judges
Showcasing your progress and everything you've built
Building genuine contacts and connections for your venture
Skills you will learn
Every student begins with potential and leaves with confidence in themselves. Our programs are designed to strengthen the future-ready skills needed for academic success, leadership and careers.
Click any skill to see how it develops through the learning journey.
Problem Solving
Finding practical solutions with confidence.
Students learn to break a challenge down before building anything, testing what they assume against what customers actually tell them. Most discover that the problem they started with wasn't the real one.
stronger
solve confidently
at the start
Critical Thinking
Making better decisions with evidence.
Students learn to look beyond the first answer and ask what the evidence actually shows. They challenge assumptions, compare different perspectives, and use questioning to make stronger decisions about their venture.
stronger
Reason independently
at the start
Creativity
Turning ideas into something that didn't exist before.
Students are encouraged to question the obvious answer and explore what else might be possible. They generate ideas, experiment with different approaches, and learn how to turn a rough concept into something people actually want.
stronger
Think creatively
at the start
Communication
Making people understand and believe in your idea.
Students practise explaining ideas to people who don't already know their work. Through pitches, presentations and feedback, they learn to communicate clearly, listen carefully, handle difficult questions and speak with confidence.
stronger
Present confidently
at the start
Teamwork
Building something better together.
Students learn that good teamwork is more than splitting up tasks. They navigate different opinions, share responsibility, give constructive feedback and make decisions together while working towards a common goal.
stronger
Collaborate better
at the start
Digital & AI skills
Using technology to make ideas happen.
Students move from simply using technology to actively building with it. They experiment with digital platforms and AI tools to research, prototype, create and solve problems, gaining confidence through hands-on experience.
stronger
Build with tech confidently
at the start
Job readiness
Showing up to work ready to contribute.
Students practise the skills employers actually look for: meeting deadlines, working with unfamiliar people, presenting their ideas and taking responsibility for outcomes. They finish with real experience they can talk about in an interview.
stronger
Feel confident finding work
at the start
The tools employers expect you to know.
Learn the same industry-standard platforms used by modern teams. Explore each tool to discover how you'll use it in real projects and everyday workflows.
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What you'll leave with
Every business gets built out of the same handful of ingredients. It's problem worth solving, a model that makes money, something people can actually use, and a pitch that holds a room. Real founders make them, funders ask to see them, and you'll finish the program holding your own.
Problem Statement
A strong hypothesis covering who has the problem, how often it hits them, what it costs them, and how you know. It's the thing every business is built on top of, and most ideas fall apart the first time someone writes it down honestly.
Business Model Canvas
Nine boxes covering who you're for, what you charge, what it costs you, and why the whole thing holds together. It's the first thing a funder, judge or grant panel asks to see, and most people can't answer it.
Idea Prototype
A rough version of your idea that a stranger can hold, click or try. Paper, Figma, code, cardboard, whatever proves it works. Nobody funds a description of a product, they fund the thing they got to test themselves.
industry-ready pitch
Everything you've built, tightened into a case someone can say yes to. It's the format investors, grant panels and accelerators all run on, and you'll deliver yours to industry judges on a real stage.
this is what learning looks likes
testimonials
Real stories from real learners sharing their experiences, growth, and success with Future Minds.
“Future Minds gave me the perfect support I needed to launch my business. I wouldn't have been able to do it myself."
Founder @ Kayya Crafts
“I’ve grown so much. I've gained the confidence to show my art business and tell my story, and it made me more comfortable applying for future galleries and markets.”
Independent artist
“Future Minds helped us sell at real markets, and we had our best sales day yet. Nearly everyone bought something because they'd come to support us. It was humbling to be so supported and recognised.”
Co-founder @ Gumnut Echo
"It's like a kickstarter for your business. I'm making more connections and building more opportunities than I ever expected."
CEO @ HennaHQ
"It's something you shouldn't miss. The journey of running a business can feel lonely at times, since it's not always seen as a 'stable' path, but the people in this program are truly amazing and inspiring."
Founder @ Floria Touch
“Future Minds surrounds you with people who inspire you to grow, so many incredible connections and really cool people who can genuinely help you.”
CEO @ Ashan Industries
“Future Minds was exactly what I needed. There are many problems in the world, and I knew I wanted to solve them, but it was always difficult to discuss these issues with students my age. It gave me the opportunity to meet with students who wanted to change the world."
Co-founder @ Startup Link UniMelb
"Participating in FutureHack was one of the best decisions I have ever made. The program opened up my eyes to the power and impact of social entrepreneurship. It helped me see that I could combine my love for helping others with business ."
Founder @ Letters Against ISO
"Future Minds kickstarted my career in the social impact space. Their mentorship and guidance helped change me as a leader. "
Former Chair at Victorian Government's Youth Congress
"Future Minds opened my mind to entrepreneurship and social impact, something I think I wouldn’t have discovered not participating in the hackathon.
Through the program, I was inspired to attend the Yale Young Global Scholars program, where I met startup founders from all around the world."
Analyst @ Reserve Bank of Australia
"Future Minds has been one of the most influential events in my life! Their ability to scout some of the best mentors and generate an environment of productive innovation is incredible.
Through the program, I was even able to land an internship at an edtech startup, that molded me into a better entrepreneur."
Founder @ Aurora
"It’s different from any other event I’ve participated in. Whether you want to work in a startup or not, Future Minds allows you to meet so many new people and make new connections."
National Lead @ Encode Justice
Meet your industry mentors.
Every part of this program is shaped by over 30 founders, investors and operators, people who've actually built, funded and scaled real businesses. Their experience runs through everything you learn, and along the way, you'll get to meet a few of them face to face.
What makes us unique?
No new subject, no new timetable, no extra prep for your teachers. Our facilitators deliver the whole program. Your school gives students the time and space, and we handle the rest.
Fixed, one-size-fits-all lessons
No academic credit
Fund your idea yourself
One teacher, thirty students
No access to industry
Content years out of date
Focused on marks and graduation
Classroom-bound
Innovative, high-energy learning
Real university credit with Monash
Grants of up to $1,000
Many mentors, all experts
Direct line to industry
Content refreshed every year
Focused on real ventures
Learn in person or online
The next cohort starts soon.
Join the upcoming cohort. Seats are limited to ensure personalized mentorship and code reviews.
28 March – 5 April
(Application Deadline: 25 March)
Kick-start your learning with immersive workshops, real-world projects, and guidance from experienced mentors. Build practical skills and connect with a community of passionate learners.
28 August – 5 September
(Application Deadline: 20 August)
Advance your knowledge through project-based learning, industry insights, and career-focused sessions designed to help you confidently apply your skills in real-world settings.
Key dates, and how long you've got
Explore our academic sessions, workshops, and special programs throughout the year.
Choose a term to discover upcoming courses, events, and learning opportunities near you.
Pitch a 12-minute talk
$30 student rate ends
Full cost covered
$5k prize pool
Questions we get asked
Find quick answers to the most common questions about our programs, process, and learning experience.
