A Year-Long fellowship for teenagers in Southeast Asia
Wrestle with
Fellows graduate with:
A personal compass
A thoughtful definition of success. Clarity about what you believe - pressure tested through conversations. This is a compass to guide you through life's big decisions.
A track record
A real project you build in public. You might curate an event, publish a long form article or showcase a prototype. This is a body of work you can show the world.
A cohort
Fourteen peers who know you deeply and who will keep showing up long after the program ends. This is a unique peer group to challenge and hold you accountable.
The Fellowship Experience
90 Min Live virtual sessions at 8.00pm GMT+8, Thursday
01
Weekly virtual sessions.
Facilitated cohort discussions.
02
Small pods of 3–4 fellows
Peer-to-peer work between weekly cohort sessions.
03
Focused personal developmental work outside the group rhythm.
Fellowship Highlights
Three experiences anchor the fellowship year.
Good Society Readings
GSRs are structured discussions around the biggest questions in life. What does success actually mean to you? What is your role in society? What values do you live by? You'll debate, disagree, and discover what you actually think. The insights you gather from these discussions will guide the pivotal life decisions ahead of you.
Practice building solutions to problems you care about. You might come into the fellowship already passionate about an issue or you might, through the fellowship discover a new issue you're curious about. Frame the problem, develop a thesis, interview stakeholders and prototype a solution that you believe gets the world closer to a solution. You might publish a long form article, curate a stakeholder event, build a website and more.
The Substack
Your Substack is a portfolio of your insights. You'll share your reflections from the Good Society Readings and when you start working on your Contribution, you'll 'build in public' by sharing your progress on Substack for the world to see.
The Guide
Navin Muruga
Founder, Ethos
Navin built fellowship programs as Head of Southeast Asia at Acumen Academy - designing and facilitating developmental experiences for the region's most promising changemakers. Ethos is the first time that methodology has been adapted for teenagers.
His practice draws on Harvard's Adaptive Leadership, Integral Coaching, and Kegan & Lahey's Immunity to Change - frameworks he has worked with across more than thirty cohorts of emerging leaders.
He is also a father of two boys - it's the reason he founded Ethos.
Acumen Academy SEA
Transcend Fellow
TEDx Speaker
A note for parents
You’ve watched your teenager grow up alongside AI, and you’ve heard the same advice everywhere: more skills, more certificates, more code. Ethos is built on a different bet — that the future will reward young people who know what’s worth doing, and who have the character to do it.
The fellowship is designed around your family’s reality. Three hours a week. A pause around your child’s exams — school comes first. The demanding work happens in the summer, when there’s room for it.
What your child finishes with is concrete: a published body of work, a delivered project, and a definition of success they built themselves. If you have questions, write to me directly - I answer every parent myself.
Navin
01
Application
Step 1: Written Application (30 min)
3 simple questions to help you reflect and articulate why you think the fellowship will be a good fit with your personal development goals.
Step 2: Interview (30 min)
Shortlisted applicants are invited to a Zoom interview with the Program Facilitator. It's an opportunity for us to learn more about what you're curious about and your overall readiness for an immersive cohort-based learning experience.
02
Enrollment
Step 1: Offer
Along with an official offer letter, you'll receive the related program details (schedule, online platform, etc.)
Your family will also be invited to attend a welcome session, where they can ask questions and learn more about the program.
Step 2: Accept
To confirm your seat on the cohort, you'll submit your tuition payment and a signed copy of the offer letter.
Eligibility
Must be between the ages of 15 to 17
Be proficient in English
Have access to a stable internet connection
Tuition
SGD 400 per month
The program duration is 12 months
Next intake starts Sep 2027 and ends Aug 2028
Financial Aid
We are committed to supporting students regardless of their financial situation. Please do not let your financial situation stop you from applying. Upon being accepted into the program, you may apply for financial support.
Southeast Asia - Founding Cohort 2027
Join the founding cohort
begins Sep 2027
Applications open soon. Join our waitlist and be the first to be notified.
No newsletters. Only what matters.
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