The Catalyst Open Source Academy empowers tomorrow’s innovators by giving senior secondary students practical tech skills and the confidence to dream big about their careers.
Our Open Source Academy's mission is to inspire action. By the end of our academies, students will leave equipped, confident, and excited to shape the future through open source or step boldly into the tech world.
At the Catalyst Open Source Academy, students dive into three immersive days of hands-on learning, creativity, and exploration. Guided by industry mentors, they’ll gain a solid grounding in tech foundations before exploring the world of open source.
From tackling real-world cybersecurity challenges to sharpening coding skills with modern open source tools, students will build and test their own ideas through design, prototyping, and user experience workshops.
Students experience software development in action and learn how AI and emerging technologies are shaping the future. By the end, students will have expanded their technical skills and unlocked the confidence and curiosity to thrive in tech.
If you're a year 12 or 13 student who is curious about tech, software development, or what a STEM career can look like, this academy is for you.
Applications for our 2026 Academy are now closed.
If you applied, we will contact you by email to let you know if you have been successful or unsuccessful in securing a spot in the Academy.
Interested in our 2027 Academy?
We'll update this page as soon as applications open again.
The Catalyst Open Source Academy runs from the 20th-22nd of January 2026, and provides you with:
To apply, you'll need to be:
We are offering the opportunity to a maximum of 12 students. To apply, you'll need to complete an application form which will be available on this page once applications for the 2027 Academy open.
We will contact you by email to let you know if you have been successful or unsuccessful in securing a spot in the Academy.
If selected for the Open Source Academy, you'll be expected to:
Catalyst's Academies exposed me to a side of programming and gave me the kind of insight that got me excited about coding and development, and helped cement my dreams to be a woman in ICT.
[My student] was so excited about her work at the Catalyst Open Source Academy over the holidays ... you've opened her eyes to new possibilities.
It is always amazing to see how productive the students can be. In the history of the Academy students have committed over 200 patches to the Koha code base, making a real difference in the working lives of librarians all around the globe.
