iXperience Cape Town – Career Bootcamp + Internship Summer Abroad

In this program, you get to take thought-provoking classes that are useful for future careers. For example, I took a course on iOS development in Swift. I had little coding experience before this course but by the end of it, I had built my very own app! I got stuck a lot along the way but the TA's and instructors were always there to help.
Additionally, you get to meet friendly people from all over the world. When I went on the program, there were students from UVA, Michigan, UCLA, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, and many more universities. On top of that, there were a lot of international students from various countries. I became friends with many of these students and enjoyed meeting all these people.
Lastly, you get to go on awesome adventures. I went sandboarding, hiking, surfing, paragliding, and much more. Cape Town truly has so much to do and is a beautiful city.

So quick background on me: I was a college junior majoring in a non-business and non-tech field and I remember frantically searching for a summer opportunity that would educate me in these two sectors, while simultaneously ensuring that I would have funnest time. Honestly, it's really competitive out there - getting an interview, landing that internship amongst a pool of talented students. The whole process is daunting. When I discovered i_Xperience, it was basically the perfect trifecta that met my three needs for an unforgettable summer internship:

1. learning for the sake of learning
2. hands-on professional experience
3. cultural/ personal exploration

Simply put, i_Xperience did THAT. I spent a month learning about the fundamentals of Product Management, worked on a team to design and pitch our digital product, and spent the second month applying what I learned at a South African e-commerce company. When I go into interviews, I milk this experience because it was one of the professionally and personally internships in my college careers. Being a part of i_Xperience has given me an edge and a story to talk about. Beyond the professional development, Cape Town is literally adult Disneyland. I lived on the beach in Camps Bay, ate really good, did something out of my comfort zone every day, and met some of the most brilliant people across the globe.

If you're in the same boat as me- APPLY.

I had high expectations coming to iX. I had heard about it from friends who said it was the summer of a lifetime. And after pushing off study abroad twice while pursuing dual degrees at UMich, I decided to go for it and head to Cape Town. And unequivocally iX surpassed every expectation I had. I took the Product Management course with pushed me to integrate my background in business and technology (the teacher was awesome). I not only had great people in the class with me, but roommates that were a blast. iX reinvigorated me. It got me out of the routine that inherently develops after a couple years in college. Most importantly, iX gave me a level of clarity on what I wanted to do after college that I hadn’t been able to achieve before. This experience has changed my trajectory and I encourage everyone else to take this leap and go on this epic adventure!!

I'm currently a junior at the University of Southern California and learned about this program through my friend who wouldn't stop raving about her time with iXperience the summer of 2017. After doing some research, looking through their website, and watching youtube videos of past students, I quickly realized how special the program was and the incredible value that they offered. So I went in to iXperience this past summer at their Cape Town, South Africa location with high expectations. iXperience managed to exceed all of my expectations in every way possible.. I took the Product Management course and learned more than I did in those 2 weeks than a semester at college. The class was more like an intense workshop, where we collaborated with our classmates, and came out with an actual digital product at the end of the course. I became so close to all 25 students in my class and being surrounded by such brilliant, motivated kids was truly inspiring. We all pushed each other to achieve and develop product ideas, mobile apps, and pitches that blew my mind away. The class was also taught by an industry leader (my teacher was the COO of a global conversion rate optimization agency) who was genuinely passionate about the subject and wanted nothing more than for every single student to grow and unlock their potential. During the internship phase, the TA's and professor went above and beyond to pair me with the kind of internship I was looking for. At my internship, I was given impactful and meaningful work, and didn't feel like just an intern, but a valued part of the company. The TA's are also there to support you throughout the entirety of your internship phase, and act as mentors to make sure that you are getting the best internship experience. The amount of workload during the course and internship is perfectly balanced - I had the perfect amount of free time to explore all of what Cape Town had to offer. Every week, there are excursions planned for us and endless fun events like city exploration trips, surf sessions, karaoke nights, rooftop mixers and champagne cruises! I got to do some of the coolest things like shark cage diving, skydiving, safaris, wine tastings, bungee jumping, sandboarding, and more (Cape Town is THE dopest place!!) Honestly what makes this program so special is the people. I am so grateful to be part of such a strong and tight-knit community of amazing individuals. The staff are the coolest people I've ever met - they're more like your buddies and truly care about curating this unique, life-changing experience for all iXers. I made amazing friends from all over the world, who I still keep in contact with. I actually plan on visiting my friend Sim who lives in Vancouver over Thanksgiving break :) I cannot recommend iXperience enough. Fun fact: this is also the first online review that I have ever written - I had such an incredible experience that I'm writing a review because I want to share this opportunity with as many people as possible. It's the best investment in myself that I have ever made and I had the summer of a lifetime!!!

Never having been anywhere across the Atlantic before -let alone outside the U.S- it would only make sense that I was nervous, uncertain, and hesitant to study abroad in a foreign country (Cape Town, South Africa). However, writing this now, two months after I have returned from an eight week awe-inspiring journey, I can say that not only am I more confident and eager to travel outside the confines of 'home', but my perception of myself and my relation to this world has all become much more clear to me. I can not thank iXperience and the entire team enough. The truly are pushing and working toward revolutionizing what it means to get a meaningful and effective education.
So, what does iXperience mean to me? The summer program provides not only a unique and engaging social and educational experience, but it allows the chance for one to step out of their comfort zone and partake in life-changing, riveting moments that they will take with them for many years. I took the Product Management (PM) course at iXperience despite not having much prior experience (I researched PM prior and really wanted to learn more about it and where it can fit in with society today). At the beginning of the eight weeks, the only thing I knew about PM was that it is the 'job of managing a product'. Quite the research I did, yes? Well now, I can easily and without hesitation elaborate on what PM really, truly means. It is a very dynamic area of entrepreneurship that really entails a belief in a product and the perseverance and tenacity to communicate and share that belief to the world (consumers, takers, businesses). With a product, one must roadmap, create it, bring it life, and confirm with a consumer population - that being a certain market- whether this product is desirable.
An aspect of iXperience that I loved was how during the week I would work on developing a highly intelligent and revolutionary driving safety app named Gilda, and come the weekend, I would be swimming with the world's most famous predator, the Great White Shark (FYI- those creatures are bigger than you think)!!! Every day you experience something new, something eye-opening. You gain a new perspective on the most detailed of things- things you would never have noticed before. For instance, there is you in the world. You have the opportunity to lead your life the way you want. To get where you want, you need to connect with people. Make yourself known, for your mouth is the door to your future, and your words are the keys to unlock it!
iXperience is more than just an experience. It is a moment in time where you are able to stop and think to yourself as to how lucky you are to be somewhere so cool, so far away from home... but yet you find yourself at home... at peace.
I can not compliment nor share enough of my gratitude for iXperience. I have visited the beautiful mountaintops of Table Mountain (one of the few wonders of this world), and the humbling local townships where I got the opportunity to meet its people and partake in beautiful cultural dances. That said, I still can not believe how lucky I am to have come across a referral link last year to iXperience's website. Thanks to iXperience, not only am I more prepared and open-minded to where I want to go/be in my future, but I simply feel like a better more improved version of myself!

I had an absolute blast spending my summer in with IX in Cape Town! They offer a really interesting school/internship opportunity. You spend the first few weeks learning a new skill and then the next few weeks interning at a globally recognized company. I spent my free time hiking and surfing and recommend IX to anyone for an awesome summer opportunity.

My typical day could be hiking Lions Head in the morning and then going to class. After class I would check the wave report and maybe head out for a surf. Afterwards I’d grab food in the city and then back home to do it all over the next day. There is so much to do in Cape Town! Don’t be worried about it being a “South African Winter” it’s still 65 degrees and sunny everyday.

Also, I met some of my best friends on my summer abroad. We all came from different parts of the globe and different universities. It was great to meet and collaborate with so many students.

I worked for a medium sized company and really enjoyed my internship. Send me a message through social media for more details on my time abroad.

iXperience transformed my approach to learning. Never before have I been so motivated to wake up at 530 am for a sunrise hike only to continue to hours of learning followed by work and exploration. There is no program more conducive to expanding my mind and horizons.
In coding, we are taught not only syntax and operation but also how to translate that to real world application. With the help of iX, I refined my understanding of the many subtle channels of communication. I learned how to debug in every day life. Everyone is welcoming and warm. They are always optimistic and are willing to help out. Even if they don't always have the answers, they don't quit until they find a solution. The iX crew strives to promote community. The social events over the course of the summer were just as important as the classes. Additionally, Cape Town, where I completed the course, is exhilarating, exciting and legendary. It is where natural beauty meets industry. Not to mention its authentic cuisine is phenomenal. This past summer I didn't just learn, explore and grow; I lived.

iXperience was such an incredible adventure. The staff was so friendly and welcoming and really went out of their way to make everyone comfortable. I took the Data Science class and learned machine learning, neural networks, cluster algorithms and so much more all in Python. The first four weekends iX planned excursions for us. We went out to Sea Point, visited the Townships, discovered the vineyards, and took surfing lessons. In the second half of the program we created our own adventures. My favorite was going sand boarding in the dunes just outside of town. During my internship, I got to work for Travelstart, an online travel agent, using the skills that I learned from my Data Science course. Cape Town is a truly unreal place and really made my summer unforgettable.