Writing from a senior IxD student’s perspective who has participated in the summer program in Taiwan Toucheng Farm, and did a UX design internship at Microsoft in her college years:
What would motivate college students to participate in a summer program?
1. Mentorship
1-on-1 time with experienced folks is key. Good mentorship programs provide students with opportunities to learn new knowledge and grow their skills. Mentorship programs help students have a deep conversation with others who have more experiences than them. A mentor can also benefit from these programs because she/he would also have a chance to get fresh ideas from students and improve their leadership skills.
2. Industry Experience (or sponsored projects )
Most of the students in their sophomore or junior year lack any industry experience. Students want to obtain some industry experience during their college years because it is almost impossible to get a job offer without real-life experience. Some colleges or universities collaborate with corporations to give students the opportunity to collaborate with working professionals. For example, University of Washington Human-Computer Interaction and Design program partnered with Microsoft Research and Intel Labs to provide students with some sponsored research projects. CMU HCII is inviting clients for the 2018 HCI capstone projects. CCA IxD program collaborated with IDEO CoLab and Ford to sponsor their class projects. Students desire to work in a professional setting where their skills can be used to create a real impact in the world.
3. Networking and Community
We interact with classmates and teachers every day at school which limits our network. During the summer, most students want to spend their time meeting new friends, learning from people in different areas, and working with people in different disciplines. Through joining the community, students can connect with each other to get help and gather perspectives that they never considered before.
4. Impactful Projects
As a designer, it is exciting to see your works come to life, especially the moment when you see yourself influence or improve peoples’ lives. When I participated in Secret Project during the summer of 2016, we worked on Toucheng Farm in Taiwan. We collaborated with farmers and interdisciplinary subject experts to prototype methods of bringing rural life into the community, such as designing a game to teach children about farming and using resources wisely. After I finished the 10-day program, we pitched our concept to farm owners and they are working to launch our plan in the following months. It was a super satisfying and exciting experience.
5. Learning Something New
We learn new things every day from people around us. Whoever our clients, classmates, or teachers are, they bring different perspectives and skills to the team. Through collaborating with those who share different knowledge, students are able to complement each other with their strengths. For my summer internship at Microsoft, I worked with their Design team, PM team, and Marketing team with their ongoing project called Office Intelligent Network. I learned a lot about design strategy, product management, and business knowledge which I didn’t learn from school. In our design team, we had weekly stand-ups to share our design process with each other, as well as critique. Learning from peers is an important lesson for everyone.
6. Payment
It is okay to find some passionate students to volunteer their time if the program is exciting enough. However, if the projects are for business purposes, it is encouraged to pay the students. They would want to earn some money for their hard work and feel that their contribution is valued. It’s also a good opportunity for the student to learn how to negotiate in the future.
7. Last but not least - do some fun activities!!
Most summer internships/programs have a lot of fun activities for team building, such exploring the cities, camping, and playing board games. Enjoy the wonderful summer!!
What are some current summer programs?
KPCB
Mission: We are a community of individuals dedicated to building a brighter future for our industry and the Silicon Valley.
Designer Fund
Mission: We invest in startups co-founded by designers, build and educate design teams through Bridge and share best practices with our community.
Start X (Stanford community only)
Mission: StartX is proud to partner with a number of organizations that share our mission to accelerate the development of entrepreneurs through experiential education and collective intelligence.
Y- Combinator Startup School
We believe the barrier to entry for people to start a startup is still too high. We want to make it easier for people to start a company, regardless of who or where you are, so we’re starting by sharing what we’ve learned, through Startup School.
https://www.startupschool.org/
Secret Project
Mission: We work with young adults to think wrong about their trajectories. This is the one that I participated in
https://www.facebook.com/scrtproj/
College Summer Program
NYU Summer Programs/ UCLA Leap Summer leadership program/ UC berkeley summer session / Summer @CCA/ Chicago Booth Summer Program | Transformational Experience
Students normally need to pay tuitions in order to participate in these programs.
Internship Programs in Corporations/Design firms
A lot of tech companies provide internship programs for college students. Selected students are invited to work with the firm’s internal team, making it a great industry experience for their career. For example, some tech companies such as Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Intuit, and Adobe, invest a lot of money on their internship program. However, it can be difficult to get into these programs because it is competitive and most of the sophomore and junior students are still building their portfolio.
Summary:
Everyone has different goals for their summer plans. Programs that are considered successful generally focus on providing good mentorship and growing a student’s knowledge and network.
To recap, a great summer program:
- Gives students an opportunity to get out of their comfort zone, meet new people, and work on impactful projects.
- Helps students to improve their problem-solving skills, communication skills, and creative skills.
- Provides students with industry experience before they graduate.
- Connects students with great mentors and subject experts to expand their social network.
- Creates a lasting community for students to share, learn, and grow.
- Drives long-term impact and change for both students and program partners.
Thank you for reading, feel free to leave a comment and talk about your ideal summer program!
