Welcome!

Invent The Future: Dev With AI 2026!

Dream it!

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Build it!

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Dream it! 〰️ Build it! 〰️

What is invent the future?

Welcome to Invent the Future, a two-week summer camp that invites high school students to learn how to build real, working web applications using the same tools that professional developers use today: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and modern AI coding assistants.

Week 1 is a guided foundation. Campers learn how the web works from the ground up—how pages are structured with HTML, styled with CSS, and made interactive with JavaScript—and then dive into the skill that defines modern software work: prompt engineering. They’ll practice zero-shot, one-shot, few-shot, structured-output, and chain-of-thought prompting, and compare how Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT respond to the same prompts so they can make an informed choice of tool.

Week 2 is a team hackathon. In teams of two or three, campers will use everything they’ve learned to design, build, and present a web app that addresses a real-world social-impact problem they care about. On the final day, they pitch their projects to instructors, guest judges, and their peers.

 

Program Info:

Invent the Future | $600 early bird: $300

Location:

SFU Burnaby - 8888 University Dr W, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6

Time and Date:

July 13 - 24, 10:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M. (2 week long program)

notes:

  • Rooms and final locations will be confirmed to participants in a future date.

  • Early bird pricing ends on June 30, 11:59 P.M. (PST)

Register Now!

 
 

CIFAR Inclusive AI Scholarship

The CIFAR Inclusive AI Scholarship will be awarded this year to students who are admitted into the SFU Invent the Future program who self-identify as Black or Indigenous. The scholarship will cover registration fees, transportation costs, meals, and accommodations for the duration of the program up to a maximum of $3,750 CAD. If you are eligible for this scholarship, please fill out the scholarship form below.

Please do not register for the program before submitting a scholarship application. We aim to respond to your scholarship application within two weeks of the deadline. Upon completion of the program, CIFAR will also issue scholarship recipients a notice of award, which they can put on their curriculum vitae. The last day to submit a scholarship application is Friday, June 12th at 11:59 pm PT. Applications will be reviewed and scholarships will be awarded after the deadline has passed.

Faculty of Applied Sciences Outreach Bursary Program

We are committed to making our programs accessible to as many youth as possible by offering bursaries to subsidize program fees. To be considered, please fill out the bursary form below. We also ask that parents/guardians apply for bursaries based on their current needs. These bursaries enable us to extend our reach to youth who may otherwise be unable to participate in our programs due to financial barriers.

Please do not register for the program before submitting a bursary application. We aim to respond to your bursary application within two weeks of the deadline and may request a copy of your most recent notice of assessment for verification purposes. The last day to submit a bursary application is Friday, June 12th at 11:59 pm PT. Applications will be reviewed and bursaries will be awarded after the deadline has passed.


Frequently Asked Questions:

  • Our camp registration is handled through a third-party registration platform, EventBrite.

  • All computers and other relevant technology will be provided by us while you are here at camp!

  • Yes! We ask that each child bring a water bottle, lunch and snacks as there is a scheduled lunch and snack breaks throughout each day.

  • If a program reaches its capacity, you have the option to place your child on the waitlist. If a spot becomes available, all individuals on the waitlist will be contacted and registration will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis.

  • Registered participants will receive a pre camp package a week prior to the event’s start date. You can find all relevant camp information, including all policies and procedures that are required from all parties while at the camper’s duration of stay.

  • Science AL!VE is able to offer refunds under the following circumstances:

    More than a week prior to the first day of camps:

    • Full refund less $35 admin fee applied per camp. 

    Fewer than one week prior to the first day of camps:

    • No refund provided. 

    Should the program be cancelled by FAS Outreach and Science AL!VE:

    A full refund will be issued. 

    Transfers of camps:

    A $10 transfer fee will be imposed if requesting a change to a different camp week.

For more information, please refer to our full FAQ by clicking here!

 

Questions? Contact Us Here

Got any burning questions or feedback? We’d love to hear them! Email us here at saadmin4@sfu.ca

Program Sponsors

 
 
 

Looking for more summer camps and programs?

Click here to view our high school offerings this summer season!

Additional Coding Resources