Why We Started APJ-RAISE, a Free Student Research Community
APJ-RAISE is a free, independent, student-led research community. Why we started it, what it offers, and where it stands today: 1,100+ students learning research from 250+ institutions in 3 countries.
APJ-RAISE (APJ Research Alliance for Innovation, Science and Education) is a free, independent, student-led research community. It teaches students how research works, helps them form small research teams, and publishes their papers, code and data on its Open Research page. Anyone from any college or country can learn there.
I co-founded it in 2026 with Kriti Sharma. This post explains why, what it offers today, and how you can take part.
Disclosure: I am a co-founder of APJ-RAISE, so read this as a founder’s note, not an independent review.
Why we started it
Research should not belong only to students who already have a lab, a supervisor or a big college name. Most students who want to try research don’t know where to start: which papers to read, how to ask a good question, how to run a fair experiment, or where to share what they find.
APJ-RAISE is our answer. It is inspired by the ideas of Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, who asked students to dream and then do the work. It is not linked to or endorsed by him, his family or any related institution, and it is not a university like KTU or AKTU.
What APJ-RAISE offers
| What | Details |
|---|---|
| Free courses | 9 self-paced courses with 162 lessons: research foundations, reading papers, statistics, experiment design, reproducible research, paper writing, peer review and presenting |
| Certificates | Each course ends with a test and a hands-on project. Pass both to get a certificate anyone can verify |
| Membership | Free for students aged 18+. Members get a member ID card, the members group, learning sessions and a team to work with |
| Publishing | Member papers, code and data go on the Open Research page, with the authors’ names. Authors keep their copyright |
| Events | Free online events, starting with the APJ Research Quest quiz |
Where it stands today
As of 14 November 2026:
- 1,100+ students are learning research on the free courses.
- Participants come from 250+ colleges, universities and schools in 3 countries.
- Our first event, APJ Research Quest 1, a free national online quiz on scientific thinking and research basics, is open until 30 November 2026.
It is still early. We are in our founding phase and no member papers are published yet. That is the next milestone.
How to take part
- Open apjraise.org/learn and start Research Foundations. No experience needed.
- If you are 18+, apply for free membership.
- Follow APJ-RAISE on LinkedIn for new courses and events.
If you run a student club or teach at a college and want to work together, write to hello@apjraise.org.