Giving teenagers the keys to their own learning

TUMO started from a contrarian bet: give teenagers the keys to their own learning and they will go further than any timetable would push them.

The result was a free, after-school programme where 12 to 18-year-olds design their own path through 14 creative and technical fields, from animation and game design to programming and, now, generative AI, with no fees, no grades and no entrance exams.

THE PLACE
Started in Armenia, now across 15 countries

THE INVESTMENT
Making world-class creative and technical learning free, self-directed and genuinely engaging

THE WIN
Now runs a network of more than 20 centres reaching around 35,000 teenagers a week across 15 or more countries, and in 2025 it won first place in the WISE Prize for Education

THE PROBLEM

Formal schools are good at teaching core subjects but rarely at building creative and technical skills, or the self-direction, that a fast-moving digital economy rewards.

For a small, landlocked country like Armenia, with few natural resources and a large global diaspora, human talent is the strategic asset. The gap was not core knowledge but everything alongside it: design, code, film, the confidence to make things, and a way to reach teenagers in towns far from any technology hub.

TAKING ACTION

In 2011, Armenian-American entrepreneur Sam Simonian and his wife Sylva funded and opened the first TUMO in Yerevan, a purpose-built centre run through the Simonian Educational Foundation.

The model inverts the classroom. Every teenager starts on the TUMO Path, proprietary software that helps them set goals and choose from 14 focus areas. They begin with self-directed projects supported by learning coaches, then unlock month-long workshops led by working professionals, then intensive learning labs with top industry experts.

There are no grades, exams or fees, and admission is open. Students build real portfolios and discover what they are good at by making things, not by sitting tests.

INVESTMENT SUCCESS!

TUMO now reaches around 35,000 teenagers a week, roughly 25,000 across its Armenian centres and 10,000 abroad, and counts more than 60,000 alumni.

Beyond the numbers, its recognition speaks to the model's strength: first place in the 2025 WISE Prize for Education for its generative AI programme, chosen from 427 applications worldwide.

KEY WINS

35,000+ teenagers learning every week

20+ centres across 15+ countries

60,000+ alumni since 2011

WHY INVESTMENT WORKED

Teens own their learning

Self-directed projects, chosen by the student, build motivation and independence that a fixed timetable cannot.

Three escalating layers

Self-learning, then professional-led workshops, then expert labs, so students go from basics to real, portfolio-grade work.

Free and open, always

No fees, grades or entrance exams, so talent, not family income, decides who takes part.

Reaches beyond the capital

The mobile, container-based TUMO Box extends the programme to rural towns; more than 40 now operate in Armenia.

SCALE AND SPREAD

TUMO has 20 centres across 15 or more countries, including France, Germany, Portugal, Albania and Lebanon. Two innovations drive the spread. The TUMO Box, a shipping-container satellite hub, carries the self-learning layer to rural communities, and an international franchising model lets other cities and countries run TUMO under a shared pedagogy and software core while adapting to local culture.

TUMO Labs, launched in 2020 with the European Union, extends the approach to applied science and engineering for older students.

PARTNERS AND PHILANTHROPY

TUMO is a philanthropically founded and diaspora-backed institution. It was created and primarily financed by Sam and Sylva Simonian through the Simonian Educational Foundation, and is led by chief executive Marie Lou Papazian.

Over time it has drawn support from across the Armenian diaspora and from partners including AGBU and the European Union, while building revenue mechanisms such as property rental and franchising to reduce dependence on any single donor.

Philanthropy built the model and funds its spread; a deliberate business logic keeps it sustainable.