Program Reviews

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.

An experience that everyone with any background is welcome. Diversity is a key element here and it helps you learn more. You meet people from different specialties and you will hear/learn about different skills from design to coding and much more.This can help you better choose the right path for you in your career and learn how to work with people from different backgrounds.
The staff, coaches and colleagues are very supportive and the atmosphere is very friendly.
I am personally grateful for the experience that I had in DSS :)

I was starting a career shift when I joined DSS and I enjoyed my project a lot, partly because I think I was really lucky with my team and partners. From what I have heard from other people, this is not always the case since the team and the project are essential for your experience and you can't really choose them 100%. The profiles of the students are very diverse, which is interesting, but usually brings unbalanced teams, and the filtering of the DSS when recruiting is not infallible.
DSS staff are nice and helpful but don't expect them to guide you on every step or go very deep on the subjects during lessons, although you can always get extra time on specific issues from them. Workshops are scarce and provide very basic learning about many different themes, so they look more intended to open your eyes to new areas rather than turning you into an expert on any of them. So it's mostly up to you to make it work, the energy and dedication you want to bring, and the hunger for knowledge you have. Learning from your team members as much as possible is highly recommended, although this can be limited if the course takes place online (on the other hand, workshops and project work ran quite smoothly digitally despite of the inability to use the space at HVA). It's also supposed to be fun, but when online...well is not always fantastic.

Being a researcher for more than 4 years and wanting to learn new techniques in the data science area, connected me with DSS. It was a new experience to work with different nationalities and with people from different backgrounds. I have to emphasize this diversity is very rare, and you do not experience this often! Enrolling in this program was one of the best decisions that I have ever made. It helped me to learn new skills such as Design Thinking and Communication, and it helped me to find solutions in a simple, yet elegant way. I got full support with every problem, and they are there for you if you have any questions. I was working on a project that needed a lot of research. During the project, we had a coach named Abdo, who guided us through this journey. I am so happy that I chose this program since it changed my life! I have learned data science methods as well as soft skills while I was at DSS.

The staff in DSS are nice and helpful and most trainees in DSS are also friendly. In addition, it provides a good opportunity to build your resume, which will help you in your further career. However, for such a traineeship, it is very important to have a good group mates. Especially when the people in your group have a different skill level (for example, someone with a master collaborating with someone who did not even finish a bachelor yet), you might have a worse experience. As a consequence, the final project might be worse and not representative of the skill level of the one with a master.

Having worked in graphic design industry for 2 years prior I have joined the program with a clear goal: to get some European working experience, expand my knowledge and understand what I can do beyond my current profession. The program exceeded my expectations by giving me all I've asked for and more: a solid set of soft skills, far superior understanding of how to solve sustainability-related issues, as well as great design thinking and facilitation methodologies. The program also showed me my capabilities as a professional, gave self-confidence, courage, and great friends.