iXperience Cape Town – Learn + Intern Abroad

This past summer I participated in iXperience's inaugural Immerse program in Cape Town, South Africa. The first four weeks of this program entailed a UVa Global Studies portion incorporating an art, archaeology or astronomy, conservation, and history element. During the next six weeks, I took the Management Consulting course. Collectively the liberal arts program and pre-professional program make iXperience a study abroad program like no other. The former instills an appreciation for South Africa, its inhabitants, and the country’s vibrant culture. All the while, the latter provides you with an opportunity to build a foundation in an area of your choice with industry experts (in my case a former project manager at McKinsey’s Johannesburg Office).
In the management consulting program, the clients are primarily South African startups with the governing logic being the smaller the firm the more likely that you, the students, get delegated meaningful work and that your final recommendations will be implemented. In my case, we consulted for a behavioral design agency that worked predominantly in the advertising space to develop a financial inclusion project that would enable township-based entrepreneurs to access their services. We delivered a business model which our client is moving to pilot this month.
Prospect students should be assured that they will have a great opportunity to experience personal growth and professional development while having ample time to take advantage of all of Cape Town’s recreational activities. Parents should know that their students will be working hard contrary to the reputation of most study abroad programs. Moreover, they are able to expand their network to include the iX staff, industry experts, and other students at some of the world’s most prestigious universities. The iXperience program is truly one of a kind and I imagine that it will only get better as they learn how to better integrate UVa’s institutional aims into their curriculum.

When I applied for iXperience, the program seemed too good to be true. The website was simple, to the point, and absolutely stunning, and it cost a pretty penny to attend. I wasn’t sure if I could even afford to attend it, but luckily for me, iXperience and my school helped me out sufficiently with the cost so I could travel all the way to Cape Town to see what iXperience really had to offer. I was not disappointed. They placed us in the most beautiful and safest part of town, Camps Bay. They negotiated with numerous local businesses to give us all iXperience discounts. (Student discounts are usually only offered to South African students, but we were not left hanging. iX has us covered.) And they offered a nurse on site to meet our needs (Sophia❤️) and Pierre to help us out around the clock, in case, for instance, your shower head breaks and floods your entire apartment;). Then there was Jakes who also lived on site and was head of security. You could text him at any time of the day and he was there to help! Please use him. Cape Town is a big city with inevitable crime and iX gives you the resources to be safe. So use Jakes! He also happens to be the nicest soul around. iX also set you up with “pals”, which were a number of people in the iX staff that would stay in touch with you, answer any questions at any time of the day, offer assistance with anything and everything, and keep you supported throughout the 6 weeks (shout-out to Adrian!!)
But it only got better from there...they arranged a shuttle to take us between our accommodations and class. And, although accommodations were cool, class was arguably even cooler. Housed in Workshop17 on the Waterfront, it wasn’t just an awesome building, but also close to the mall, millions of restaurants, gyms, and grocery stores, (Oh! And a traveling puppy adoption agency!!). We were set up well.
I was worried that class would be a bore, as it it was 4 hours long every day of the week for the first two weeks, with no scheduled breaks. But it for sure wasn’t. My data science teacher rocked! She was funny and tailored class to be incredibly applicable to the field of data science...preparing us for the INTERNSHIPS! iX had partnerships with multiple tech companies, including Invictus Capital, Rhino Africa, Orderin, DataProphet, and Quicket, to name a few. iXperience offered continued support throughout the internship process thanks to the wonderful teaching staff and were able to guide us well throughout our 4 weeks of internship.
All in all, iX was a worthwhile experience for me. My only regret is that I wish I attended the Immerse version of the program so I could learn a little more history about Cape Town and South Africa. But that’s on me. iX was great!

Last summer, I participated in an abroad course and internship with iXperience. I did it in Cape Town with the Product Management course and it is one of the programs that prepared me to secure my internship at EY this upcoming summer! I spent my first four weeks developing my own product idea with a team of four students who I still keep in contact with today. The next four weeks, I completed an internship in the fashion industry and was able to organize and watch an African fashion show by the end of the last week! These experiences are what allowed me to find my passion for technology and I was able to do it while in the most beautiful place in the world. In addition to the academic portion of iXperience, I was lucky enough to do so many outdoor adventures like climbing Table Mountain, going to penguin beaches, bungee jumping, shark cage diving, and more! This was the best way I could have spent my summer and I think it is a great way for anyone to spend theirs!

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!