Between your offer and the cohort.
Applications close 7 January. The cohort starts 1 February. The weeks around that aren't dead air — they're a paced sequence of touchpoints designed to land you ready, prepared and connected on day one.
Once your application is accepted, you'll hear at four points before the cohort begins. Each is light to receive but substantive in what it does.
Your offer and onboarding
Within ten working days of applying, and in any case by Friday 15 January — your application is reviewed and you receive one of three outcomes: an offer, a request for more information, or a referral to a different pathway. Founder Cohort offers go out on a rolling basis; we don't wait until applications close. Apply early and you'll have longer to prepare. An application received on the closing day, Thursday 7 January, will have its outcome by Friday 15 January.
Your offer letter confirms your place, your fee, and the date your Faculty mentor will introduce themselves. It also includes the enrolment pack: pathway-specific paperwork, the Founder Cohort agreement, and an invoice if applicable. We need the pack signed within ten working days of the offer, and in any case by Friday 22 January, so that everything is in place before the cohort begins.
January — preparation
Monday 4 January — your pre-reading pack lands. About 20 hours of reading: selected sections of the Body of Knowledge that ground the cohort's first weeks, two or three case studies, and a short reflection prompt for each. None of it is graded; it's the warm-up. If you accept your offer after 4 January, the pack follows as soon as you do.
Week of 18 January — a welcome note from your Faculty mentor. Light personal introduction, what they're hoping to learn from you, and a 30-minute introductory call before the cohort starts. If your offer arrives after that date, the note follows shortly after it.
February — the cohort begins
Monday 1 February — week one. The cohort meets together for the first time. Live opening session covering programme structure, expectations, and the first capstone milestone. You meet your eleven cohort peers and the Faculty Council.
From there, the programme runs for twelve weeks plus capstone, completing in early May 2027 with the credentialling of the inaugural AEXP cohort. There are no live sessions over the Easter weekend: Good Friday, 26 March, and Easter Monday, 29 March.
A note on timing
The weeks between your offer and the cohort starting run across the Christmas and New Year break. The touchpoints are structured around that. Nothing lands between your offer and 4 January beyond your enrolment paperwork, so the break stays your own. The reading arrives once it's over, in time to pace across the month, and the Faculty introduction comes in the fortnight before day one.
If you have specific dates you'll be unreachable, mention them in your application and we'll structure the introduction call around them.
Questions on any of the above: admissions@ex.institute.