The UpCode program is a selective internship program in which teams of
high school coders build a custom software product based
on a client's requirements. The program focuses
on a learn-by-doing style with interns learning by building an actual
product with mentor guidance. Interns will have significant impact on the final product quality,
including managing schedules and choosing technology. The program simulates a
real-life Systems Consulting implementation, including
- Project Management using Jira or similar
- Identifying suitable platforms and languages for the project
- Requirements, Design, Development, and Testing
- Client interactions including requirements negotiations, business goal setting, and status discussions
- Team meetings including potential opportunities to lead portions of the team
- Mentorship from theCoderSchool staff including expert technologists, entrepreneurs and
business owners, experienced ex-consultants, and the CEO of theCoderSchool
The Spring 2026 Session of UpCode will consists of 4 teams based at 4 of our locations
(Palo Alto CA, San Ramon CA, Hartford CT, and Long Island NY).
Each location will field a team of up to 6 interns. Local interns with
the ability to occassionally meet in-person are strongly preferred, although
fully remote interns will be considered. Work will be done remotely or
in-person as determined by the team. Each team
will work independently with their own project manager and mentors based on the
same project requirements.
At the conclusion of the program:
- Team members will present their finished product to all other teams,
allowing each to ask questions and see how other teams approached the same problem.
- Presentation will be made to stakeholders, after which
a winning team solution will be chosen.
- A Most Valuable Player will also be named in each team as the most significant contributor
in leadership, technology, teamwork and other areas.
- Each intern will receive a performance evaluation and reflection session from their team leaders
- Interns will be invited to an exclusive zoom group discussion with our partners
at Collegewise to hear guidance on how this specific internship experience
could best be portrayed in college applications
Program Details
Intended for high schoolers with an interest in
computer science, data science, engineering, or a related technical field, this program
immerses our interns in a simulated software development lifecycle.
- Open to the public, does not need to be a student at theCoderSchool.
- For High School students only, ages 15-18.
- Must be a proficient coder (3+ years Python, Javascript or similar) with experience building their own projects.
- Internship is about 4 months, and runs from mid January to May 2026.
- Expected commitment (self scheduled and program scheduled) of 4-6+ hours per week.
- Application cycle opens in early November.
Program Structure
While the specifics of the program structure will be determined once the team is formed,
the structure will likely reflect the following along with mentor guidance:
- Initial Kickoff to understand requirements, meet the team, and set expectations
- "Sprints" lasting 1-3 weeks, where a subset of functonality is agreed upon and developed
- Weekly team status meetings (in person or remote, depending on team)
- Pair or team development
- Frequent touch points between team members via meetings, slack, email, etc
- A final sprint to wrap up a presentable deliverable
Intern Selection
All team members must be proficient coders with an ability to work well
on a team,
strong self-initiative, and willingness to learn. Experience in
building one or more projects of your own design is a significant plus.
Top grades and leadership positions are a plus, as is passion shown in the application essay.
For the Spring 2026 iteration, up to 6 interns per location will be awarded positions
(total of 24 interns).
While remote interns are a possibility, we strongly prefer local interns
for a tighter team experience.
We expect a competitive selection process, please understand that we
cannot accept all qualified candidates.
Project Description
The Spring 2026 project will be a web/big data project. Previous experience with
database usage, Google Maps API, web front and back end may be preferred. Details will be
released at project kickoff. In this initial iteration, our founder and CEO Hansel Lynn
will act as the end-user client/product manager and will interact
with the team on a regular basis.
Internship Benefits
In this program, we won't tell interns what to do. Rather, we will
mentor and guide them towards a common goal, and allow them to learn by direct experience -
in other words, this is an internship, not a class.
Interns who have plenty of self-initiative and are committed will learn a LOT, and meet
new friends too. Interns will be
given a unique opportunity to learn real-world skills in a controlled environment,
including:
- How to work on a team and collaborate in a software development cycle, including
real concepts like project milestones, coding deadlines, testing, and more.
- Improved time management skills, including use of calendars, accountability
to be on time to meetings, and managing deadlines
- Opportunity to contribute to a project with potential real-world usage and business impact
- Vast improvement in coding skills by pushing technical boundaries, including
exploring the use of AI to enhance coding productivity
- Potential leadership opportunites in guiding technical or project management areas of the team
- Exposure to business requirements and the decisions behind them
- How to interact with a client with real requirements
Cost and Commitment
A one-time $2,000 fee will be required if an applicant accepts an offer
(this fee may increase in future sessions), covering cost of staff time and effort
to guide interns and to structure and run the program.
Check with your
local team manager for financial aid packages if needed.
Interns will be selected based on an application process.
Depending on technology chosen, platform or other technology fees is a possibility.
Interns must be committed to this project. Status meetings must be fully attended (barring reasonable excuse).
Self-scheduled development time will vary, but may require
4-6 or more hours per week. Team interaction time (Slack, email, etc) is
up to the team. In short, this is an active-participation internship that requires
self-initiative and self-scheduling. We will provide structure and guidance, but
the real learning comes from internship self-initiative. Team members who aren't able to
commit enough effort may be removed during the program at our discretion,
after a performance improvement plan (PIP).
All interns must have a computer
to develop code (Mac or PC is ok), and stable internet connectivity for remote meetings.
Application Process
Applications will open in early November (check back for exact date).
The application review process will consist of
- Submission of resumé, transcript, and a short essay (topic TBD when applications open) via website
- Coding proficiency evaluations
- Submission of an app portfolio (i.e., custom programs you've developed)
- Interview(s) over zoom for final qualified applicants if needed
Every application will be reviewed, but like real-world internships, many applicants
may be turned away prior to completing the entire process.
We expect significant interest and many qualified candidates may
not be offered a position. However, remember that even the application process can provide
significant real-world experience.
Whether we're able to offer you a position on a team or not, we
wish you the best of luck as you gain invaluable experience towards
your future!
My Inspiration
Hey Parents,
As a parent of two college kids and one high schooler myself, I know how important
real-world experience can be for their future. My niece (proud uncle here!) is
a recent graduate
of Brown University in Computer Science, and she had the good fortune
of being accepted into a summer internship at a company called CapTech.
The internship was real IT consulting, but with a simulated project and client.
The idea was to expose smart Computer Science college students to the consulting world,
to learn the ropes, and potentially offer them
a job afterwards. My niece didn't accept her offer (because she got a
job at Apple instead - like I said, proud Uncle here!), but most interns
got both a great experience and a great job out of it.
While I can't offer that kind of job at theCoderSchool, I can
simulate that consulting
experience for some of our high schoolers to get a head start on their own
ambitions. Looks like my 15+ years at consulting companies like
Accenture are finally coming back to haunt me.
Like I always say, nothing is more powerful than learning-by-doing.
So let's go do it.
-Hansel Lynn
Founder/CEO, theCoderSchool
