Learnable 22 — A New Era
“Mine is a long and exciting tale!” said the Mouse, turning to Alice, and sighing. “It is a long tail, certainly,” said Alice, looking down with wonder at the Mouse’s tail; “but why do you call it exciting?”.
I know some amazing people, and you, my friend, just managed to squeeze into that exclusive list by being here. I have one simple purpose; to tell you why Learnable is the best internship program ever — yes, I can put my money on it.
Learnable is a 6-month training program for enthusiastic youths focusing on software development, product design and Web3. It is for outstanding young individuals who are passionate about building a career in the software industry. Basically, they are the next generation of superheroes in the tech industry.
I was part of Learnable ’20, and now I find myself planning and coordinating this year’s program. The transition from being a wannabe techie to grooming other wannabe techies is something I didn't see coming, especially considering the timeframe. I must say it’s been an exciting experience so far.
Maintaining Excellence
As much as we want all beginners to have the opportunity to be part of our little miracle, we have certain standards which we set and maintain throughout the programme. This ‘excellence’ mantra also shows in our recruitment process. During the application, each applicant must submit a portfolio which the team will review. Don’t fret now; we are not recruiting for a job role; we are recruiting for a learning internship, and we know that. The minimum requirement to get into the program is to have at least one project on your portfolio. This shows that you have tried something on your own before, which means you have the first character we are looking for — passion. If you don’t have this character, it doesn't necessarily mean this internship is not for you, but it definitely means you are not for us.
The next step in our recruitment process is the technical and personality test. The technical test comes with a prep curriculum with all the resources required for you to pass the test. The technical test aims to give you an idea of how the internship will feel once you commence. You must submit your technical test to get into the internship — oh, you have three days to do so.
Another thing that is very important to us is personality. A personality test is given to the applicants, and you are required to submit it alongside your technical test. The purpose of the personality test is to help us distribute the interns into different teams. I mean, one coconut head in a group is trouble, but two?? Yikes.
Reimagine Learning
Traditional learning as we know it has evolved from the typical classroom method to an active approach. Active learning requires a more engaging procedure with the course materials through discussions, problem-solving, case studies, role plays and other methods. At Learnable, we believe this is the most effective way to acquire knowledge/skills, and we have continued applying this technique to learning in the program.
Our curriculum structure has been crafted to cover all the nitty gritty you need to be an expert in your chosen field. The program has four learning paths; Front End Development, Back End Development, Product Design and Web3. The curriculum for each learning path was designed with active learning methods focused on critical thinking and problem-solving, so be ready to complete tasks in every module you learn!
Mentorship
Every intern is entitled to a mentor throughout the duration of the program. I would say be excited because these are not just any other mentors but the best of the best. The mentors will collaborate with the interns, under the supervision of the Learnable team, to help each other achieve their goals (yes, the mentors have goals, too!). The relationship between the mentor and mentee will have two key things; effectiveness and candour.
One thing we want to encourage this year is a symbiotic relationship between the mentors and the mentees. Each party should be able to give and receive value simultaneously, and ‘value’ must not be only technical — you can convince your mentor why Messi is the GOAT!
Collaboration
Ha, the last of our four core values! (If you are wondering about the other three, you haven't been paying attention). To foster the spirit of collaboration, we organise the interns into teams as they move along the internship. They will participate in activities like building actual products, running a business, hosting a fashion show, etc.
Elimination
Remember our core values? No, you don’t.
While we want to transform as many people as possible, we will not compromise our core values in doing so. Hence, only the people that share our values of passion, excellence, candour, and collaboration will be able to make it to the end.
The rest? The rest, they say, is h-i-s-t-o-r-y.
Physical? Virtual? Hybrid?
Some people want to be part of our programme from the comfort of their homes, and others want to be physically present at the hub. Another weird set of people want Ronaldo to be the GOAT, but we can't get all we want, fortunately.
The first three months of the internship is virtual for everyone. This is the core learning phase. The last three months is the implementation phase. During this period, selected interns that are residents or have accommodation in Enugu have the opportunity to participate at the hub.
The Implementation Phase
This is where we stand out from any other kind of internship. After three gruelling months of intensive learning, it’s time to put your newfound knowledge to the test. The Implementation phase has different sections with different tasks and expectations.
SCRUM Week
SCRUM is a structured framework for product development frequently used by agile software development teams. This framework uses the agile methodology to build useful products for customers with as few resources as possible. During this week, the interns are subjected to real-life scenarios where they are tasked with building a product for a nervy client — yes, it gets heated.
Sometimes the interns do an amazing job, and they get pizza!
Learnable Business Session (LBS)
During the LBS, the interns are given capital and are tasked with starting a business, running it efficiently and making a profit from the business. They will also attend sessions with MBA holders from LSE, LBS, and INSEAD, actual traders in the market, seasoned professionals and business experts. The interns stop being software developers or designers; they become startup founders and cofounders. This approach prepares them for the real world because we definitely have some future startup founders amongst us, and they need to be ready!
Build Season
This is the summit, the climax, the pinnacle, the zenith, the Messi, the apex of the programme (You honestly thought I wouldn’t sneak Messi in there?).
The interns apply everything they have learnt to build an industry-standard product presented on Demo Day! It is usually the busiest and most intense part of the internship because the interns simply have no choice but to turn up!
Valedictory Dinner/Award Night
Organise!! Every other I day I organise!! — I’m sorry, but this song has been stuck in my head for a while. I had to let it out.
The Valedictory Dinner and Award Night is where we all gather to unwind, relax, party and have fun. It has been an amazing six months, and it’s time to say our goodbyes (from the programme, not our community- or hearts).
We also give awards to the outstanding interns who have been dedicated throughout. If you noticed, I wrote ‘awards’ in bold, so you should know it’s something heavy — hehe.
A separate award show will be hosted online for those joining us virtually. There will also be an online dinner- I’m joking, lol.
What next?
We are not done. After the internship programme, all the interns that successfully completed the programme will be added to our Talent Outsourcing Pipeline.
As time evolves, companies are no longer posting job vacancies online because they eventually waste a lot of time and resources reviewing and interviewing numerous applicants who are not qualified for the job. What they now do instead is to reach out to renowned organisations with a proven track record — like Genesys Tech Hub to get direct referrals.
Essentially, completing our program puts you in this pool, which, alongside the network of amazing people you have joined, sets you at an advantage in getting a job. Pretty awesome, right?
It is amazing what we do at Genesys Tech Hub, and the value of the Learnable programme is unquantifiable, and I mean it. If you want to apply, learn more about the programme or sponsor deserving talents, kindly do so here.
“Ohh, I now see why you call it an exciting tale”, — said Alex. “Thank you” — The mouse said, wiggling its tail in excitement.
