Student Testimonials

Sarah

“My confidence has grown in spades.”

Why did you decide to do this course, and why did you choose IUDA over other courses?

I was doing bits of Service Design work in other projects before I started the Design Academy. I chose this course because I wanted to deepen my practice and understand myself more as a designer e.g. what drives and guides me. This course particularly appealed to me because of the diverse skills and expertise of the academy teaching team and because of the applied approach of the course, I knew that it would push and challenge me.

I also really valued the supportive nature of the course. In addition to the teaching team and coaches, the academy students were a wise bank of constructive feedback and encouragement.

What was your job before before you enrolled?

Innovation Consultant at Innovation Unit

What has changed about your job or how you work as a result?

My confidence has grown in spades. For example I’m far more comfortable stepping into uncertain spaces and knowing that, with the right approach, those uncertain spaces can become great opportunities for creativity/building something new. 

I’m also proactive (and enjoy) building the capability of others in service design as a practice and set of principles, so it becomes embedded in organisations.

What skills and competencies did the course help you to build?

• Visual communication that captures ideas in a compelling way.

• Deepening of prototyping skills.

• Facilitation/design leadership. 

• Fairer and more democratic co-design skills.

How did you manage to balance course commitments with full time work?

Having a work project that had service design components was really helpful, as I could directly apply learning from the course into the work. The final project did feel like an intense juggle, so my advice would be to pick something that interests you and you’ll enjoy/not resent doing!

What advice would you give someone who is considering going on the course?

Go for it! The course is very hands on, so you’ll learn heaps about practice. My advice would be to also  take time to consider what you’re learning about yourself as a designer, in addition to the practical aspects of the course.