Student Handbook

Welcome to a different kind of college experience. At VIIV, learning and building happen together. You will study ideas, test them in the real world, work with people who see problems differently, and leave each cycle with something you can show.

Your first weeks are about finding your bearings—understanding the spaces, routines, tools, and people around you. Introduce yourself to your peers and mentors, ask questions early, and take time to understand how the campus works.

You are not expected to arrive with a startup idea or a perfect plan. You are expected to arrive ready to observe, participate, practise, and improve.

Life at VIIV moves in cycles. Structured sessions introduce the concepts and tools you need; studio time gives you space to apply them; reviews help you understand what worked and what needs to change.

Plan your week around outcomes rather than activity. At the beginning of each cycle, define what you intend to learn, build, test, or complete. Break the work into small commitments and make progress visible to your team.

Reflection is part of the rhythm. After every review or demonstration, record what you learned, what evidence changed your thinking, and what you will do next.

The VIIV curriculum is organised around quests. A quest combines foundational ideas, practical tools, a real-world challenge, mentor feedback, and a final piece of evidence.

You may be asked to identify business problems, interview customers, generate revenue, automate a process, build a prototype, launch a brand, or prepare an investor-ready venture package. The purpose is to demonstrate what you can do—not simply repeat what you have heard.

Treat every quest as part of a larger journey. Keep your research, drafts, decisions, feedback, data, and final outputs organised because they will become part of your graduation portfolio.

Studio time is where ideas become interviews, prototypes, campaigns, systems, and ventures. Arrive with a clear objective, the materials you need, and a realistic definition of done.

Use the studio actively. Sketch, write, prototype, rehearse, test, and ask for feedback. If you are stuck, reduce the scope of the task until you can produce something another person can see or try.

Leave shared spaces ready for the next builder. Return equipment, clear work surfaces, name and store files properly, and report damaged or missing resources to the campus team.

Strong ventures begin with a deep understanding of people and problems. Customer discovery may take you beyond campus to observe behaviour, conduct interviews, test assumptions, and understand what people do today.

Ask open questions and avoid leading people toward the answer you want. Record what you heard accurately, protect personal information, and distinguish direct evidence from your interpretation.

Return to campus prepared to share patterns, contradictions, and unanswered questions. The goal is not to defend your first idea; it is to improve the quality of the problem you choose to solve.

Mentor time is most valuable when you arrive prepared. Share the goal, what you tried, what happened, and the decision you now need to make. Bring the work itself whenever possible.

Feedback is information, not a command. Listen carefully, ask clarifying questions, compare advice with customer evidence, and take responsibility for the final decision.

Close the loop. At your next review, explain what you acted on, what you chose not to do, and what you learned as a result.

Good teams do not avoid disagreement; they learn how to use it. Discuss the work directly, challenge ideas without attacking people, and make space for quieter voices.

Agree on roles, deadlines, decision owners, and the standard for completion before work begins. Write important decisions down so the team does not have to rely on memory.

If a commitment is at risk, communicate early. Ask for help, renegotiate scope, or redistribute work before silence becomes a team problem.

AI is part of the VIIV builder toolkit. Use it to research, explore alternatives, draft, prototype, analyse, automate, and accelerate repetitive work.

You remain responsible for every output. Verify facts, test generated code, check calculations, protect confidential information, and disclose meaningful AI assistance when a mentor or assignment requires it.

Do not use AI to imitate understanding. Your portfolio should show the decisions you made, the evidence you gathered, and the work you can explain and defend.

Your portfolio is more than a collection of polished final files. It should show the journey from question to evidence, decision, action, result, and reflection.

Maintain an organised record of customer research, prototypes, experiments, revenue or traction evidence, mentor feedback, operating documents, financial work, presentations, and leadership contributions.

Update the portfolio throughout the program. Waiting until graduation makes it difficult to reconstruct the decisions and learning that give the work its meaning.

Arrive on time and ready to participate in scheduled sessions, reviews, fieldwork, and team commitments. Your absence affects more than your own learning when other people depend on your contribution.

If you cannot attend or complete a commitment, inform the appropriate faculty member, mentor, or teammate as early as possible and follow the process shared with your cohort.

Consistency builds trust. Keep your calendar current, plan around deadlines, and make commitments you can realistically honour.

Respect, honesty, curiosity, and care are expressed through daily behaviour. Give credit, report real numbers, listen seriously, and treat every person on campus with dignity.

Critique the work without diminishing the builder. Celebrate progress without hiding mistakes. Make it safe for people to ask questions, change their minds, and admit when something did not work.

The Code of Conduct provides the formal community standards. Read it, understand it, and ask the campus team whenever an expectation is unclear.

Building can be exciting and demanding. Pay attention to sleep, movement, nutrition, focus, and the relationships that help you stay grounded. Constant exhaustion is not evidence of commitment.

Ask for support early if academic pressure, team conflict, personal circumstances, or your wellbeing begins to affect your ability to participate. Speak with a trusted faculty member or the campus team so the right next step can be identified.

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services and alert campus staff as soon as it is safe to do so.

Learn the safety guidance, access rules, and emergency information provided during orientation. Keep exits and walkways clear, use equipment only as instructed, and report hazards promptly.

Do not share access credentials or bring visitors into restricted areas without approval. Respect privacy when taking photographs or recording other people.

Shared spaces work when everyone contributes. Keep noise appropriate to the activity, handle resources carefully, dispose of waste responsibly, and leave the campus better than you found it.

Reviews are checkpoints, not performances of perfection. Present the problem, what you built or tested, what happened, what the evidence means, and what you will do next.

Use live work and real numbers wherever possible. If something failed, explain the assumption, the result, and how your next experiment will change. Honest learning is more valuable than inflated progress.

The final Demo Day brings the journey together. Students present their venture, customer validation, business model, traction, financials, funding strategy, and long-term vision to a real audience.

Year 1 is about building yourself. You develop founder thinking, discover customer problems, practise communication and sales, work with AI, and identify an opportunity worth pursuing.

Year 2 is about building a business. You design the model, build an MVP, launch the brand, acquire customers, generate revenue, and learn to operate the venture.

Year 3 is about building an enterprise. You commit to a venture path, build a team and systems, prepare the financial and legal foundation, develop as a founder-leader, and graduate with evidence.