5 Reasons to apply to The Kimoyo Fellowship
Just around this period last year (2020). The country was going in and out of lockdowns. Many of us had increased our dependencies on the internet while also spending time with our families as we were all in the same space for a long time. I remember even before the lockdown, right at the beginning of the year, while planning my goals and designing my vision board. I had written that I wanted to finally make a switch in my career and experience some other form of growth career-wise; I have been in design for several years, but I still wanted more, I was going with the flow, being a multidisciplinary designer also helped so I did not particularly mind the flow, I was able to easily switch between all of my design skills, but even at that I still wanted more.
The Kimoyo Fellowship
The Kimoyo Fellowship is a formal design program teaching the fundamental skill set required to become a product designer at today’s global companies. While this is what the website says, I can proudly tell you The Kimoyo Fellowship offers more.
I had seen the call for applications on a friend’s Whatsapp status, so I went on to check them out; at first, I was not sure whether to apply, I later applied last minute and I am super glad I did because from the first email to the next three months that followed were the best of 2020 for me. I did a life update video and I would probably write another post detailing my experience in the fellowship from the application process till now. This particular post is to give you reasons from experience why you should apply - “Shoot your shot”.
1. Career Growth
If you desire some form of career advancement in Product Design(UI/UX) or you are ready to make that switch from Graphic Design to Product Design, the fellowship is a great place to start, it is set up like a boot camp, so expect to do the work; tasks, presentations, research, team exercises and many more.
2. Hands-on Learning/Training
The program has a step-by-step curriculum that is followed and updated when needed, you learn to solve problems theoretically, practically, and with guidance from experienced mentors. A list of articles and books to read is also provided, to help you understand the various processes. You get to do as you learn immediately thereby helping you to retain what you have learned easily. You are handheld ( at the beginning ) until it is time to let go (Capstone project).
3. Access to Mentors (3:1)
This is one of the best parts of The Kimoyo Fellowship, you get access to three mentors; two senior mentors and one assistant mentor; all of these mentors are readily available to you and you alone, in fact, you have to check in with them every week. One thing I loved about my mentors is that they would constantly question my design decisions, so whatever design decision I was making, I had to make sure I understood it well and I could communicate it well too. Another thing is, your mentors are there to help you, so it goes beyond design, you could talk to them about anything; your career or how you feel about certain things.
4. Work on Real Products
You get to learn on the job and work on real products for your capstone projects, present your findings or solutions to stakeholders from these companies. The best part of this is you go the whole 360 degrees on each of these projects, from auditing the current processes to sketching, to wireframing, to series of user interviews, to feedback sessions, to high fidelity, to presentations at each stage to the stakeholders, and many more. You get to do this in teams and on your own, so it is your project and your ideas coming to life.
5. Portfolio
This is a very integral part, as a designer, this is practically your passport to a new job lol, you also get to show off your new skills. Since you have worked on real products going through the whole 360 degrees with them, you would have all of your case studies worked out. Your portfolio site would contain case studies that you could communicate well, even when woken up from sleep because you did the work from start to finish and even presented it to stakeholders. Your resume would also be up to date, giving you an immediate edge.
The Kimoyo Fellowship is one of the best things that happened to me. A̶p̶p̶l̶i̶c̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶s̶ ̶c̶l̶o̶s̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶3̶0̶t̶h̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶A̶p̶r̶i̶l̶,̶ ̶s̶o̶ ̶h̶u̶r̶r̶y̶ ̶a̶p̶p̶l̶y̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶e̶.̶ Applications are currently closed, follow up here to know when they open again.
P.S: You get to meet and connect with really cool people.
If you would love to connect with me or ask me questions you could send me a DM or email me here.
Cheers!!!! I can’t wait to welcome you to the family☺
This article is a part of my The Kimoyo Fellowship series, where I share design and growth lessons I have learnt along the way.
Please Note: Some processes might have changed due to constant upgrades on the program to make it better.
