Where ideas come alive
What is Lumi?
Where young people can change the world
Lumi is an online Quest: a gamified challenge where 10-18-year-olds solve real-world problems.
Working in teams from around the world, players learn skills in coding, design and entrepreneurship. Supported by weekly expert sessions, they put these skills into practice to develop their original apps.
Children see solutions, not problems. Lumi is their chance to combine their natural curiosity with the opportunity to make a real difference.
Lumi was developed at Stanford University, and is also Duke of Edinburgh’s Award-accredited.
Got a question? Check out our FAQs.
Real Ideas
Here are some of the inspiring innovations created by 10-14 year olds
14 year olds
Five 11-15 year olds
Three 11-14 year olds
Five 12-14 year olds
14 year olds
Five 11-15 year olds
Three 11-14 year olds
Five 12-14 year olds
And by 14-18-year-olds
14 year olds
Five 14-17 year olds
Three 15 year olds
Three 17 year olds
14 year olds
Five 14-17 year olds
Three 15 year olds
Three 17 year olds
Coming Soon
The Lumi Gallery, where you can browse all the best apps created on our Quests.
Why Lumi?
Where kids learn, real world skills
As any parent knows, kids are hives of ideas. Lumi was created to give young people the chance to apply these ideas in the real world. To benefit themselves, and everyone.
An outlet for their creative energy
The opportunity to develop skills in technology, design, and entrepreneurship – the skills of the future
A network of other bright kids from around the world
A safe, collaborative environment to work together and push each other
The confidence to pitch ideas to peers, experts, and on a global stage through competitions
The chance to change the world with their ideas
Certified by a Stanford University affiliated institution
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award accredited
Aligned with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals
Benefits
How Lumi can help your child
Lumi is DofE Award-accredited and makes a powerful addition to your child’s CV or university application.
Lumi develops your child’s skills in coding, design and entrepreneurship – all key to future success.
Lumi lets your child take their idea as far as it can go, with the chance to attract sponsorship and recognition.
Lumi gives your child the opportunity to engage with the real world in an entertaining and educational way.
Lumi provides your child with a platform to fulfil their potential, and to make a real difference in the world.
Lumi is DofE Award-accredited and makes a powerful addition to your child’s CV or university application.
Lumi develops your child’s skills in coding, design and entrepreneurship – all key to future success.
Lumi lets your child take their idea as far as it can go, with the chance to attract sponsorship and recognition.
Lumi gives your child the opportunity to engage with the real world in an entertaining and educational way.
Lumi provides your child with a platform to fulfil their potential, and to make a real difference in the world.
For every ten children who join Lumi, we’ll sponsor two others
Partner Schools
Complementing the curriculum
Lumi is a complement to traditional education: an easy way for students to develop and apply skills they first learn in the classroom.
It can form part of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, be delivered as an extra-curricular programme, or even play a key role in the curriculum itself.
We’re already working with schools across several countries about how Lumi can better prepare their students for the world after school.
Corporate Sponsorships
Lumi's unique work with young people adds real value to corporate partners.
Get in touch to find out more about how we could collaborate, including through:
Hackathon quests with young people to tackle organizational issues
Supporting the future talent recruitment process: Pipeline to Onboarding
PR and brand building with young audiences
Upskilling staff at any level
Quotes
What People Say About Us
Our Mission
Devised by a father and son team with a background in the education technology sector, Lumi is setting out to revolutionise online learning. We want to encourage young people to think BIG, expand their horizons, and have the self-belief they need to create visionary solutions to global issues. Our ultimate goal is to inspire a million 10 to 17-year-olds from around the world to become the changemakers, entrepreneurs, and innovators of tomorrow.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions.
How can I be sure that my child will be safe online during their sessions?
The safety of our Luminaries is paramount. Each online summit is recorded, and all our experts receive comprehensive NSPCC safeguarding training and undergo enhanced DBS checks (or equivalent). Summits are regularly audited to ensure our experts are equipped with the skills to handle whatever is thrown at them, while maintaining a positive, safe space for learning.
Does my child have to be competent in coding to join a Quest?
Absolutely not! Coding is one of the skills we’ll teach your child during their Quest. They’ll then be able to apply that learning as they create apps, chatbots, websites, and more. On the flip side, if your child does have experience of coding when they join a Quest, we’ll take that into account and ensure they’re given ample opportunity to develop their talent.
Who runs the online sessions?
Our Quests are developed in conjunction with experts from Stanford University and run by trained facilitators from all over the world. Amongst our talented leaders you’ll find forward thinking graduates from the likes of University College London, Harvard, and Minerva. Each of them has extensive experience of delivering exceptional enquiry-based guided learning and will provide your child with the tools they need to succeed.
What are the benefits of signing up for a Quest?
Where do we start? Luminaries leave our Duke of Edinburgh accredited Quests equipped with a raft of transferable skills. They’ll learn entrepreneurship, coding, and critical thinking. They’ll develop the invaluable ability to communicate and collaborate with people from all walks of life, and to distill complex information into its basest form. These driven young people become driven adults, securing places in universities of their choosing and becoming highly employable as a result.
How many students take part in each Quest? Are they grouped geographically?
Each Quest brings together a maximum of ten participants from all over the world. We tend to group our Luminaries roughly by age but strive to ensure diversity in terms of geography wherever possible.
How long are each of the sessions and when do they happen?
Lumi Quests typically run over a six month period with one 90 minute live session per week, and sometimes 3 week hackathons during holidays. This is complemented by half an hour to an hour’s worth of guided study offline. If you’re joining through a school, the sessions may take place during those hours. Otherwise, they are arranged to enable participation from young people in as many locations as possible.
Can my child try Lumi out without having to sign up for a full course?
Yes! Joining us for a Quest Drive allows you to take the Lumi programme for a spin with no obligation to subscribe. You can find more info here.
If my child doesn’t enjoy their trial session, can I cancel?
We’re confident they’ll love it, but if that’s not the case you’re under no pressure to sign up for the full programme. At Lumi we value openness and honesty above all, which is why we’ve made cancelling easy peasy for any child that decides they don’t want to go the distance after their Quest Drive.
Can my child continue receiving support with their project after the Quest has ended?
Once a Luminary, always a Luminary! Many of our participants continue with their subscriptions well beyond the end of a Quest. We’ll continue to provide support and access to our network for as long as it’s needed because we’re fully committed to bringing our Luminaries’ visions to fruition. Building a thriving global community of future entrepreneurs, changemakers and innovators who will transform the world won’t happen overnight, but we’re not going anywhere…
Get in touch
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