Project Academia: Bringing Industry Know-How to Aspiring Designers
Sharing knowledge is the key to becoming a better professional. That’s the key takeaway from the Sofia-based design team at SAP who embarked on a new passion project they call Project Academia with the aim of passing on industry know-how with young and aspiring talents.
This summer, they had the pleasure of launching a course at one of the largest Bulgarian universities. The team offered a modern and practical user experience and design curriculum for beginners, touching on aspects such as design principles, user research, and processes relating to UX design. At the heart of the course were a close student-to-mentor relationship, hands-on practical work, and access to meetups with professionals.
I recently caught up with some of the User Experience Designers from the SAP Bulgaria office to discuss their experience mentoring university students.
What inspired Project Academia?
Veselina Petrova: Project Academia was a wild idea based on the need to spread the knowledge about UX and design. Its main purpose was to inspire and educate the new professionals that design is vital for the success of any product or project. It’s important to have such projects for students because it can inspire and guide the young talents to pursue a career in UX and design. On top of that, we could also learn from the students and become better designers ourselves as well.
You were all course mentors for the summer course. What was that experience like?
Dimitar Stefanov: Being a mentor and working closely with my team helped me to know my own strengths better.
Denitsa Kusheva: I agree. It was pleasure to be so close to such smart and young people, to face the challenges together, and to work on developing their projects. It was exciting and fun!
What were your biggest takeaways from this project?
Mariya Peneva: It was a fun, creative, educational experience. Both for me and the students. I liked it very much!
Veselina Petrova: This project was like my own child. I was proud of everyone involved. Every one of them — students, mentors, guests — brought something unique to it. It was also a great way for me to learn where the young talents are heading.
Denitsa Kusheva: Sharing knowledge is priceless. That’s why today I’m grateful that I was part of the first edition of Project Academia.
What do you think was the biggest takeaway for the students?
Mariya Peneva: We didn’t just want to show students what design-led development is, but also to drive home how important collaboration is in our daily work.
Silviya Marinova: What also really helped was that we used Creative Types by Adobe Create. This allowed us to easily set up diverse teams and drive home the message that every person is unique in their skillset and personality and can help contribute to the success of a project.
Veselina Petrova: I absolutely agree. Creating this strong bond between them helped us show that being a designer means that you have to connect with people.
How would you describe the next generation of designers?
Veselina Petrova: These young designers are bold but understanding. They care about their users and their needs. They are eager to experiment and explore different points of view.
Silviya Marinova: They’re intelligent and motivated people. It took me back to my student years and I will never forget this time.
Thank you to everyone involved in Project Academia!
The story continues in 2023
Hear from SAP Intern Adelina Todorova on how Project Academia kicked off her career in UX Design.
Curious about a career in enterprise design?
Check out the blog posts below for more inspiration…
· Am I Cut Out to Be a UX Designer for Enterprise?
Experience matters. Follow our journey as we transform the way we build products for enterprise on www.sap.com/design.
