College & career · Guangzhou

The AI Advantage Bootcamp.

Seven days where college students, master’s students, and early-career professionals launch a live product and build the agency, taste, and craft that set them apart as AI reshapes work.

DatesDec 27, 2026 to Jan 2, 2027
WhereGuangzhou, in person
WhoCollege and early career

Request an invitation →Program facts

Jointly hosted with Lux Scholar 千麓学者

The gap between a degree and a first role

Four gaps, seven days.

What separates a strong candidate when AI is part of the work, and the day of the week that trains each.

The gap
Choosing what to build
Coursework hands you the problem; work rarely does.
Where the week closes it
Days 1 and 2 · Problem and users
Each participant commits to a problem, interviews users, and writes a mini-PRD with prioritized features.
The gap
Building with AI, not just prompting it
Knowing a tool’s name is not the same as shipping with it.
Where the week closes it
Day 3 · Build with AI coding tools
Participants build with AI coding tools and make every decision.
The gap
Finishing under real constraints
Projects without users, prices, or deadlines stay as drafts.
Where the week closes it
Days 4 and 5 · Brand, launch, freeze
A name, a landing page, and an advertisement; then the product goes live, gets priced, and finds its first users.
The gap
Telling the story to an employer
Interviews test how you explain what you built and why.
Where the week closes it
Days 6 and 7 · Story and demo day
Pitch and interview framing, the target-job build, a full rehearsal, then a live pitch to founders and operators.

Why it matters

With AI, a first version of almost anything comes together faster. Knowing what to build, and finishing it, sets a new hire apart.

In one hands-on week, participants learn how a product is made, how to use AI tools in real work, and how to keep building on their own.

01How a product is made
From choosing a problem and interviewing users to launch, pricing, and demo day.
- Problem selection
- User research
- Build
- Brand
- Launch
- Story
- Demo day
02Using AI tools in real work
More than twenty tools, each learned on the participant’s own product, with every decision theirs.
03Building on their own, next time
The same method carries into a first role, a side project, or a course assignment.
- A first role
- A side project
- A course assignment

Outcomes

What participants leave with.

Built for internship and job applications, and for a first role where AI is part of the work.

01A live AI product
Launched during the week, with real users, and still running afterward.
02A role-specific project
A tool built for the role each participant is applying to.
03A practiced presentation
How to explain what they built, practiced on stage at demo day.
04A portfolio
Code on GitHub and a personal website that presents the work.

The week

Seven days, from problem to demo day.

Pre-work arrives before day one. Two company visits and guest firesides run across the build days.

Day 01Problem selection
Feedback on pre-work, then each participant commits to a problem.
Day 02User research and PRD
Interviews with users and a mini-PRD with prioritized features.
Day 03Build with AI coding tools
Participants build with AI coding tools and make every decision.
Day 04Brand, landing page, ad
A name, a design system, a landing page, and an advertisement.
Day 05Launch, pricing, build freeze
The product goes live, gets priced, and finds its first users.
Day 06Story workshop and target-job build
Pitch and interview framing, the target-job build, and a full rehearsal.
Day 07Demo day
A live pitch to founders and operators, with awards.

More than twenty AI tools, each learned on the participant’s own product

Think & research

ChatGPT

Claude

Gemini

DeepSeek

Perplexity

Build & launch

Kimi Code

Doubao 豆包

GitHub

Vercel

Design & brand

Figma

Canva

Ideogram

Midjourney

Video & audio

Kling 可灵

HeyGen

ElevenLabs

Suno

CapCut 剪映

Operate & grow

Notion

Stripe

Our team

Our team has walked the same path.

Arena’s team studied at and worked for the institutions students aim for, and teaches from that experience.

Studied at

Worked at

Arena leadership

Meet our leadership →

Info session slides

Slides from our info session with Lux Scholar (in Chinese). Click through them here.

Open the slides →

Program facts

What’s included and how to apply.

LanguageEnglish and Chinese

IncludedPre-work, seven full days of teaching, two company visits, guest firesides, and demo day

HostsArena School and Lux Scholar

ApplyRequest an invitation with your school or current role. Enrollment opens in October.

Do I need to know how to code?

No coding experience is needed. Participants build with AI coding tools, learn how their product works, and make every decision along the way, which is how many teams now build at work.

What if I already have a job offer?

It is a good time to attend. Participants start the new role having already built and launched a product with AI, with a portfolio and a practiced way to explain their work.

What do I need to bring?

A laptop and a problem you care about. Pre-work arrives before day one, so you start the week ready to commit to that problem.

Where the method comes from

The same approach, run before.

International School of Beijing · Summer 2026
A five-day student program
Over five days, students built working websites and apps with AI and presented them to judges, on the school’s campus with mentors in the room.
Where
International School of Beijing
Judges
Founders and operators from Harvard, Stanford, Y Combinator, and AI labs
See results →
Bodley Academy · Hong Kong, summer 2025
Twenty students, five days
A five-day course designed and taught by Phillip An. Each student worked on one real problem they chose.
Students
20
Rating
9.5 / 10 Net Promoter Score
See results →
Tsinghua University · Staff training
Schwarzman College
Training for staff built around their own work, with their judgment in charge. The same format as AI for Educators.
Who
Staff, Schwarzman College
Format
Hands-on workshop
Taught by
Phillip An
See results →