Built by researchers. Designed for students who want to become one.
Aldevere runs one-to-one research programmes, small seminars and academic skills programmes for students aged 14 to 18, online, for applicants to UK, US and international universities. Mentors come from a network that includes researchers at Harvard, Oxford, NYU and Columbia.
Built by researchers who have been where your child is going
Aldevere was founded by researchers, educators, and international pathway advisors with experience across academic research, school counselling, international education, strategic operations, and student mentorship. The founding team combines published research experience, university pathway knowledge, and years of direct work with students.
David Kors
Founder, Programme Strategy & Research Mentorship
Managed a supercomputer design initiative on the CMS experiment at CERN, then researched artificial intelligence at the University of Tokyo. Published engineering researcher, with experience in strategic operations and Model United Nations education. Based in Tokyo.
Designs Aldevere's mentorship structure, research process, and programme operations.
Student Development & Learning Advisor
School counsellor with six years of experience supporting students in academic and personal development, with a psychology background, applied neuroscience training, and prior research experience. Based in London.
Advises on student readiness, motivation, learning support, and age-appropriate mentorship design.
University Pathways & Early Achievement Advisor
International university graduate with experience in finance, student leadership, Model United Nations, and early-stage entrepreneurship. Based in Doha.
Advises on student ambition, extracurricular development, academic positioning, and the bridge between teenage initiative and competitive university pathways.
The problem we saw, and why it led here
Having navigated competitive academic paths across different university systems, we saw the same pattern everywhere: capable students held back by the absence of structure, mentorship and a clear way to turn intellectual curiosity into academic work.
Tutoring is very good at improving grades in existing courses. It is not built to produce original academic work, research skills, or the intellectual confidence that competitive universities look for when they read an application or interview a student.
Both have their place. Aldevere was built for the second: the space between knowing a subject and being able to do something original with it.
What this means in practice
The mentor is found for the question
Students are matched to a mentor whose work fits their question. If no one in our network fits, we recruit someone who does.
An academic adviser alongside
An academic adviser, separate from the mentor, looks after each student's progress and wellbeing, and parents hear how it is going at set points and whenever they ask.
The student's own work
The student writes every word. Mentors question, teach and give feedback, so by the end the student can explain every part of the work at interview.
Something in writing at the end
Every programme ends with a written report on the student's work, covering strengths, next steps and evidence of growth, and a recommendation for what comes next.
From a broad interest to a finished piece of research
Every programme is written for the student before it begins, supervised by a mentor matched to their field, looked after by an academic adviser, and closed with a written report and a recommendation for what comes next. In Research Scholar and the Field Seminars, the work moves through three stages.
Finding the question
Most students begin with a broad interest, not a specific question. With reading planned before the first session and discussion with the mentor, they narrow it, from "I'm interested in medicine" to something precise enough to investigate. The research question belongs to the student.
- A reading path or syllabus, written in advance
- Early reading in the field
- A focused question the student chose
Building the argument
The student reads primary and secondary sources, builds an argument and drafts it: one-to-one with a doctoral or postdoctoral researcher in Research Scholar, or in a Field Seminar of one to three students. The mentor questions, teaches and gives written feedback at each stage while the student owns the work.
- Sessions with a mentor matched to the question
- Primary and secondary sources
- Written feedback at each stage
Finishing the work
The programme ends with work the student wrote: an essay, literature review or brief of typically 3,000 to 5,000 words in Research Scholar, or a research essay or project in a Field Seminar. They can discuss it at any interview because they did it.
- Final work the student wrote
- A presentation or research conversation
- A written report and a recommendation
The student writes every word
UCAS and the Common App both require application work to be the student's own, and an interviewer can ask about any line of it. A student who did the thinking can answer every question, and the work is worth having because it is theirs.
In an Aldevere session, the mentor asks: "Why do you think that? What does the evidence say? How would you answer someone who disagreed?" Mentors question, teach and give feedback; they do not draft any part of the work, or of an application. The project carries the student's curiosity and argument, which is what makes it worth discussing.
Questions to ask any programme
What families can expect
Who looks after my child apart from the mentor?
An academic adviser, separate from the mentor, who looks after your child's progress and wellbeing from start to finish.
How will I know how the programme is going?
You receive the schedule before the first session, progress updates at set points and whenever you ask, and a debrief at the end.
Will this help with UCAS or university applications?
Yes, through the work itself. Your child finishes with a question they chose, the sources they read and an argument they made: specific material for a UCAS personal statement, a Common App essay and an interview. Research Scholar ends with a note on how to discuss the work in applications and interviews, and mentors are glad to write a reference for a student who has attended and taken the work seriously.
What if my child and the mentor are not a good match?
We change the mentor. If no one else in our network fits the question, we recruit someone who does.
How do you decide which programme is right?
At the interview. Research Scholar suits a student with a question to pursue one-to-one; a Field Seminar, a student who wants a field taught as a university-style seminar; Academic Essentials, a student whose next step is academic writing, English for university study or source use. Each is a programme in its own right, with its own written report.
Can counsellors refer students?
Yes. Counsellors are welcome to refer students and to join the interview, and with the family's consent they are kept informed of the recommendation, the match and the student's progress.
How counsellor referrals workOnline, in your time zone
Sessions are scheduled in local time, around the school day and the examination calendar, and confirmed in writing before enrolment.
Mentors reviewed and briefed
Every mentor is reviewed before joining and briefed on our safeguarding policy before working with a student.
Parents may observe
A parent may observe any session by arranging it with us in advance (in a group, with the other families' agreement). Sessions are not recorded without the family's agreement.
One fee, in writing
The fee covers the whole programme, with no paid add-ons, and is confirmed in writing after the interview, before any payment.
Our safeguarding policy sets out how sessions are run and how any concern is handled.
Admission is by interview
Every student is interviewed before a programme is recommended. The interview can be booked once the application is submitted, and the recommendation and fee are confirmed in writing before any payment is requested.