Digital Society School

I have a background in the (fashion) design field. Prior to DSS, I completed a coding course. DSS was for me the perfect place where to bring together my different skills, and refine them through a real project in a real team. It's a great place to start your career in the tech field, also if your faculty at University is not specifically technical, and you learn by doing.

Not everything goes smoothly during the projects, but that's part of the fun and of the learning experience! I learnt and grew up a lot during my own, and could reuse what I've learnt as anecdotes during the interviews I did after completing DSS.

The program has a good name among people in the tech field in the Netherlands, so it's a really good experience to add to your CV, me and my friends have all found jobs after this experience.

I was worried that I could not fit in at the beginning of the traineeship, since my formal study doesn't seem to have a direct connection to the topic. But my worry meant nothing at the end, because the traineeship offers a rare opportunity to learn for everyone, even ones who thought they had zero design skills. I have gained good understanding of digital transformation through the fruitful discussions not only with fellow trainers, coaches, and staff but also experts on various topics (I definitely received great support from the DSS staff and coaches from beginning to end of the program!). Through the close work with the client, I have also gained a bit of knowledge of Dutch working culture.

I joined the DSS program to develop my professional portfolio after pivoting into UX research and design. It was a great way to get experience working for a client as part of a product development team. Likewise it gave me the space to work on a professional portfolio and get lots of useful feedback about how to talk about past projects.

A tip to those who are considering DSS: you get what you put into this program. While each project team has a coach with some expertise in the field, the bulk of project work is done alongside your peers: other newcomers to the innovation space. From my experience, the ones who gained most at DSS were self-starters, those who went out of their way to learn from their peers' relative expertise and to teach themself new skills throughout the program. At DSS training wheels are off; so before you apply consider that you'll need to do the leg-work for your own personal and professional development here.

Fun and Education at the same time! DSS brings a new way to learn by doing it, experiment it and develop ideas in a unique and safe environment. Thinking outside of the box mindset and cool office vibe. Staff is welcome to everybody and willing to help about any question. You can learn so many things about the digital transformation process and gain practical skills (even in online-remote workstyle) :D
The very friendly atmosphere during the whole 5 months being part of Digital Society School :)

Being part of the DSS community was enriching and fun. I'd definitely recommend this program for students in the graduation year or people taking a shift in their career. As a UX/UI designer I definitely had a lot of freedom in what and how to design. Working with real clients also helps to build your resume and gain industry experience.

Unfortunately I didn't feel as much growth as I was expecting on my own field as the program focuses more on learning a bit about a lot of fields and being the only designer in my group I had to mainly rely on my previous skills. But for people looking for getting the first hands-on experience it is a great please where work & fun is combined.

Be open to learn about a lot of things and participate in a lot of group activities. People of DSS are super knowledgeable and supportive & also super fun.