Questions people ask before they apply.
What follows is the plain version: how the cohort is composed, what the five days consist of, how review actually works, and where the certification sits relative to the program. If something you need is not here, write to us at info@genthinklabs.com.
What is The GenThink Intensive?
It is an immersive laboratory run over five days by GenThink Labs for a small, deliberately composed group, drawing on psychology, behavioral economics and anthropology to work on the quality of thinking behind hard organizational questions as intelligent systems take on more consequential decisions. It is closer to a field study you take part in than to a training course you sit through.
Who is it for, and how do the roles work?
The five roles describe where you actually stand rather than how a room is assembled. Spark is for those newest to the work and to the workforce. Senior Spark is for people a few years in who are already carrying real responsibility. Emerging Luminary is for those beginning to shape how others work. Luminary, Executive is for senior leaders inside organizations, and Luminary, Founder is for people who built the thing they are running. You choose the role that best describes where you actually stand when you apply.
How long is the program and what happens across the five days?
Five days, Monday 1:00 PM through Friday 12:00 PM. The week gives you three things: foundational context on what intelligent technology is changing and what human science says about how people think and decide, tools for challenging ideas productively, and a safe place to practice on questions with no answer key. It runs as a progression rather than a set of modules, and you apply the thinking to a live problem from your own organization.
Where is it held?
Philadelphia. All program meals, coffee, and refreshments are included. Lodging is not included, and we can arrange it on request at additional cost.
What does it cost, and do I pay when I apply?
Tuition is $9,500. No payment is collected during the application. You submit your information, we review it against the composition of the group we are building, and the team follows up with details, including anything financial, before anything is committed.
Can my employer sponsor my place?
Yes, and the application asks whether you are applying with employer sponsorship or independently so we can support the conversation on your side. Both routes are common and neither is weighted more favorably in review.
Is there a fellowship or funded place?
There is a college fellowship consideration in the application for candidates for whom cost would otherwise be the deciding factor. Indicate it when you apply and we will treat it as part of the review rather than a separate process.
What is the GenThink Certified Catalyst credential, and is it the same as the program?
They are distinct. Completing The GenThink Intensive is the prerequisite for the certification, not the credential itself. Rather than certifying people as practitioners or thought leaders, the GenThink Certified Catalyst credential certifies them for the effect they can have on an organization, and it is assessed by observed practice: convening a genuinely mixed room, helping people challenge inherited assumptions, holding productive disagreement without rushing it toward consensus, and translating the strongest thinking into productive experimentation.
How are applications reviewed, and what are you looking for?
We read for the questions you are actually living inside rather than for credentials. The written prompts, why now, which assumptions you are questioning, what perspective you bring and what you hope to influence back at your organization, matter more than title or tenure, because the value of the week depends on what each person is willing to put into the room.
Can you run this inside our organization instead?
Yes. Alongside the cross-company cohort we run three formats with organizations: a keynote, mini labs, and a bespoke version of The GenThink Intensive built around your own layers and constraints. Start that conversation through the organizations page.