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High School Independent Research Fellowship

With Alisha Outridge — Serial Entrepreneur, Award-Winning Chief Technology & Product Officer (CTO+CPO), Adjunct Professor at Brown & CUNY

With Alisha Outridge — Serial Entrepreneur, Award-Winning Chief Technology & Product Officer (CTO+CPO), Adjunct Professor at Brown & CUNY

A highly selective, invite-only mentorship for high school students ready to create a college-ready research project with real-world impact. Work 1:1 with a world-class AI leader to build something that sets you apart.

As Featured In

As Featured In

About Your Mentor

About Your Mentor

About Your Mentor

Alisha Outridge is an award-winning AI executive, product futurist, and serial entrepreneur with 20+ years of experience in emerging technology. She co-invented core AI patents at Meta (used in Instagram), built and sold multiple startups, and has held C-suite roles across media, healthcare, and fintech.

She is currently the CEO of Byte&Chord and teaches emerging tech and entrepreneurship at Brown University and CUNY. Alisha works directly with founders, students, and professionals to build technology that drives real-world impact.

She created this fellowship to give high school students what no school or bootcamp can: direct mentorship from a builder, inventor, and executive who knows how to turn big ideas into standout work.

Alisha Outridge is an Adjunct Professor and Lecturer at Brown University’s School of Engineering and CUNY Hunter College, where she teaches Emerging Technology Leadership and Entrepreneurship.

She’s the Founder, CTO+CPO of Byte&Chord and Co-Founder, CTO/CPO at The MetaPause, building next-generation AI platforms across women’s health, music tech, and wellness.

With 18+ years of experience as a C-suite product and technology executive award-winning leader at Meta/Facebook, Reuters, iHeartRadio, and FlyBy (acquired by Apple), she is also a co-inventor of core AI/ML technologies used by more than a billion people globally.

Alisha is also an Executive Coach with AnitaB.org and the Symphonic Women in Music Mentorship Program, mentoring rising executives, founders, and creatives across tech, product, and music innovation.

Every Fellow finishes with a college-ready research project — built with direct mentorship, not templates.

Every Fellow finishes with a college-ready research project — built with direct mentorship, not templates.

What You'll Learn

This is not a course. It’s a guided research experience with real deliverables.

This is not a course. It’s a guided research experience with real deliverables.

How to design a compelling research question

You’ll learn how to take a broad interest and turn it into a focused, researchable question that goes beyond surface-level thinking — something original, relevant, and worth exploring. Example: “How do TikTok’s recommendation algorithms shape the visibility of underrepresented artists in hip-hop?”

How to conduct a literature review & cite sources properly

We’ll walk through how to find credible sources (academic, journalistic, industry-specific), identify gaps in existing knowledge, and create a foundation your research can build on — all while citing like a pro.

How to use AI tools to organize, synthesize, or explore topics

This is where Byte&Chord’s DNA comes in. You’ll explore how to use tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, or Notion AI to summarize articles, test hypotheses, and speed up your learning — without shortcutting the work.

How to present findings with clarity & purpose

You’ll learn how to take your messy notes, brainstorms, and data — and turn them into a clean, clear research paper, white paper, or case study. We’ll go over narrative structure, tone, and visual presentation.

How to package your research into a Common App-ready summary

We don’t stop at writing the paper — you’ll get a polished abstract and a 1-paragraph project description ready for your Activities Section, plus language to reuse in essays, interviews, or program applications.

How to collaborate with a high-level mentor & request a recommendation letter

This is real mentorship. You’ll learn how to ask smart questions, respond to critical feedback, and advocate for yourself — the same skills you’ll need in college, internships, and life. If you show up and do the work, you’ll walk away with a signed letter of recommendation that actually means something.

You won’t just learn frameworks — you’ll create a portfolio project that reflects your voice, your thinking, and your ambition.

Fellowship Tiers & Tuition

Standard Track

$6,000

10-week Personalized Research Mentorship

Designed for students who want a deep, steady pace to explore their topic, refine their writing, and work toward a standout final submission.

Biweekly 1:1 coaching sessions with Alisha

Asynchronous feedback on research progress

Customized topic development & project strategy

Literature review & structure guidance

Final paper + Common App abstract review

Signed recommendation letter (based on performance)

Certificate of Completion

Accelerated Track

$9,000

6-week High-Intensity Research Sprint
✅ Most Popular

Ideal for high performers with tight deadlines or early summer program goals who want maximum momentum, feedback, and polish in a shorter timeframe.

Weekly 1:1 coaching with Alisha for rapid progress

High-priority async support via WhatsApp & Slack

Rapid topic development + scoped project strategy

Ideal for early deadlines or summer program applicants

Premium feedback on all key milestones (topic, outline, draft, final)
Final deliverables: research paper, abstract, Common App summary

Signed recommendation letter (based on performance)

Certificate of Completion

Both tracks are invite-only and include a LinkedIn-ready Certificate of Completion.

Fellows graduate with a portfolio-quality project, a signed recommendation letter, and a certificate they can showcase across applications and professional platforms.

🎯 Ready to Apply?
This fellowship is invite-only and limited to just 9 students per season.


🎯 Ready to Apply?
This fellowship is invite-only and limited to just 10 students per season.


We also welcome inquiries from parents, counselors, or educators.

Project Domains

Students work on original research projects across a range of industries, tech stacks, and social impact areas. Past examples and partner platforms include:

🎧 Music & AI

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Investigate how AI is changing music discovery, royalties, and fan engagement through real-time data.

Topics may include:

  • TikTok virality and algorithmic bias

  • Can AI predict a hit song?

  • How streaming economics shape genre trends

  • How AI changes the economics of music publishing

🧬 Health & Tech

Byte&Chord —

Music FinTech Innovation

Powered by

Explore how AI can be applied to solve complex problems in underserved health markets like perimenopause and PCOS.

Topics may include:

  • Hormonal health & diagnostic AI

  • Ethical design for health AI

  • Trust & data in digital health platforms

🎭 Tech + Comedy

Powered by

Investigate how AI is changing music discovery, royalties, and fan engagement through real-time data.

Topics may include:

  • TikTok virality and algorithmic bias

  • Can AI predict a hit song?

  • How streaming economics shape genre trends

  • How AI changes the economics of music publishing

Startup Pivot Behavior

Study why startups fail and how they pivot. Use real case studies from Y Combinator, Shark Tank, and Byte&Chord’s own incubator archive.

Topics may include:

  • Behavioral analysis of founder decisions

  • MVP feedback loops

  • Resilience and decision-making in venture-backed tech

MetaPause — AI for Women's Health

Explore how AI can be applied to solve complex problems in underserved health markets like perimenopause and PCOS.

Topics may include:

  • Hormonal health optimization

  • Ethical design for health AI

  • Consumer trust in digital health platforms

Byte&Chord — Music FinTech Innovation

Byte&Chord —

Music FinTech Innovation

Investigate how AI is changing music discovery, royalties, and fan engagement through real-time data.

Topics may include:

  • TikTok virality and algorithmic bias

  • Predicting hits using machine learning

  • How AI changes the economics of music publishing

Snark Tank — Tech + Comedy Crossover

Dive into the intersection of AI and humor through research on generated comedy, satire, and bias in entertainment AI.

Topics may include:

  • Can AI be funny? Analyzing humor in GPT models

  • Generational humor patterns across platforms

  • Comedy as resistance: TikTok activism and identity

Startup Pivot Behavior

Study why startups fail and how they pivot. Use real case studies from Y Combinator, Shark Tank, and Byte&Chord’s own incubator archive.

Topics may include:

  • Behavioral analysis of founder decisions

  • MVP feedback loops

  • Resilience and decision-making in venture-backed tech

© Byte&Chord, Inc. 2025