How Do You Join the Next ScholarShift Accelerator Cohort?

TL;DR:

• The ScholarShift Accelerator is a four-week live programme for Master's and PhD students who want to use AI properly in their research, without risking their degree.
• You get six modules, live classes on Google Meet from Monday to Thursday, 8:00 PM to 9:30 PM, a weekend workspace session in person or online, and recordings for one year.
• The fee is KSh 20,000, or a KSh 10,000 deposit and KSh 10,000 midway, as shown on our ScholarShift Accelerator page on 13 November 2026.
• The next cohort is planned for late January or February 2027. No start date is fixed yet, so ask us for the next cohort dates.
• Academic integrity is part of every week. The programme teaches you to use AI honestly; it never writes your thesis for you.

Who this is for

This is for Master's and PhD students in Kenya: at coursework, proposal, data, writing or defence stage. It also suits people about to start a postgraduate programme.

You do not need to live in Nairobi or take time off work. Researchers in past cohorts have come from universities in Kenya, Ghana and Scotland.

Still deciding whether it is worth it? Read why postgraduates choose the ScholarShift Accelerator first. This post covers what you get and how to join.

The ScholarShift Accelerator at a glance

Every fact here comes from our ScholarShift Accelerator page, checked on 13 November 2026.

What you get: the six modules

You practise on your own topic, so the work you do in class moves your thesis forward too.

1. AI Ethics in Academia. How to cite AI, disclose it and stay inside your university's rules.
2. Prompt Engineering. The Four Cs and CRAFT frameworks, so your prompts give precise output you can use.
3. Literature Reviews in Hours. Search, map and synthesise sources faster with SciSpace, LitMaps, NotebookLM and Zotero.
4. Citation Management and Research Organisation. A Zotero set-up and a simple system for sources, notes and references.
5. Academic Writing and Defence. AI feedback on structure and clarity, then a presentation built in Canva.
6. Custom Research Assistants. Your own AI assistant in AI Studio or Gems, with prompts you can reuse.

Week by week

Academic integrity comes first

Integrity is the first module, and it runs through all four weeks. The programme teaches citation, transparency, journal guidelines and responsible AI use explicitly.

Here is the line we hold:

• AI helps you think, search and organise. It can help you find papers, see how sources connect, and get feedback on structure and clarity.
• The thesis stays yours. Your argument, your analysis and your words. Paying someone to write it, or letting AI write it, is cheating.
• Every source is checked. AI tools can produce references that do not exist. You check each one against the real paper. Our guide on using AI for citations without fake sources shows how.
• Your university's rules win. If your university, supervisor or journal sets rules on AI, follow them and disclose your use.

For more, read using AI in postgraduate research without crossing the integrity line and the ethical use of AI in academia.

How to join, step by step

1. Check your fit. Take the 60-second check on the ScholarShift Accelerator page. Six questions about your programme and where you are stuck give you a research-workflow score and a plan mapped to the four weeks.
2. Ask for the next cohort dates. Email lead@fukazee.com or use WhatsApp from the page. You can ask any question before you pay.
3. Choose how to pay. The full fee of KSh 20,000, or a KSh 10,000 deposit to hold your place and KSh 10,000 midway through.
4. Pay securely online. Checkout runs on Paystack. You pay by card, or approve the M-PESA prompt on your phone.
5. Get your receipt. It arrives by email straight away, with your payment reference.
6. Get your place confirmed. We confirm your place and send onboarding details on WhatsApp: the timetable, the Google Meet link and the session plan.

What happens after the four weeks

You leave with a research workflow you can keep using for the rest of your thesis. Recordings stay available for one year, so you can go back to any session. The AI and prompt-writing skills also carry over to consulting, policy, strategy and other writing work.

What postgraduate learners say

These words come from Google reviews on our reviews page:

• A postgraduate researcher: "I've mastered tools like SciSpace, Zotero and generative AI, making paper writing and data review a breeze."
• A postgraduate student: "The practical workspace sessions were great for application into actionable insights."
• A postgraduate, thesis and research: "They really helped me with my thesis and research."

Our Google rating is 4.9 from 38 reviews, as shown on our reviews page on 13 November 2026.

When the ScholarShift Accelerator may not be the right fit

• You want someone to write your thesis. We will not, and you should not let anyone else either.
• You cannot give any evenings for four weeks. Recordings help, but the programme works best when you practise each week.
• You are not doing, or about to start, a Master's or PhD. The programme is built around postgraduate research. Ask us about other options.
• You need a NITA-accredited course. FuKazee is not yet NITA accredited; ask us for the current status.

Questions people ask

When does the next ScholarShift Accelerator cohort start?

Our page says the next cohort is planned for late January or February 2027, once university exam dates are known. Ask us for the next cohort dates.

How much does it cost?

KSh 20,000 for the whole four weeks, or KSh 10,000 now and KSh 10,000 midway, as shown on our ScholarShift Accelerator page on 13 November 2026.

I am not in Nairobi. Can I still join?

Yes. Classes are live online, and the weekend session has a virtual option in parallel.

I already use ChatGPT. Is this still for me?

Yes. The programme goes beyond casual use: research workflows, specialised tools, ethics and your own AI assistant.

Who teaches it?

Rodney Maina, FuKazee's founder, who has trained more than 3,000 people since 2022. Guest speakers join now and then, when they add something. Read his trainer profile.

Sources

All sources last checked 14 November 2026.

• FuKazee, ScholarShift Accelerator: modules, weekly plan, schedule, weekend sessions, recordings, support, fee, deposit, payment steps, next cohort, integrity, past participants' universities.
• FuKazee, Reviews and letters: Google rating of 4.9 from 38 reviews; the reviews quoted.
• FuKazee, Rodney Maina trainer profile: 3,000+ people trained since 2022.

Where FuKazee fits in

The ScholarShift Accelerator gives Master's and PhD students four weeks of evenings to build an AI research workflow that is fast and honest. You practise on your own thesis, with every session recorded.

To ask for the next cohort dates or check whether it fits your stage, email lead@fukazee.com