iXperience Lisbon – Career Bootcamp + Internship Summer Abroad

I thought that overall iXperience was an incredibly enriching experience. I took the full stack coding course and learned so much (learning how to build front/back-end applications/APIs/databases/applications in multiple frameworks etc...). The administration was run very well. The program director and legal assistant lived very close to the accommodation and were able to tend to students very quickly should the need arise. Students mainly worked on projects/assignments throughout the program. However, weekends are free, and students are allowed to explore the surrounding towns as they wish. iXperience even provides included excursions to certain sites as well. Would highly recommend to anyone interested in getting into web/software development!

Ixperience is a program that I recommend to everybody as I truly believe that it is an opportunity that can not be passed up. I learned more in the 6 weeks of classes than I have in my years of college combined. Although it was rigorous, the teachers all wanted you to succeed, and were all willing to stay late and meet with you early to ensure that you understand everything. IXpereince put in a lot of thought into building a well rounded community of smart and engaging people. There was not a single person that I could not stay up late talking to, or that I was not willing to go out to an event in Lisbon to. The friends I made from this program are ones that I will carry through life. Finally, the administration was very responsive to any problems or concerns that I had. Not only were the very responsive, but they actively seeked to solve the problem at hand. They were easy to talk to and became my friend at the end of the trip.

Doing iXperience was such a cool experience! Not only were we studying abroad in a cool country (ie. Portugal), but we were learning relevant skills and getting real work experience.

I learned a lot about how different other countries could be, as I hadn't traveled much before this. I also learned a lot of major-related skills that will help me in the future when looking for another internship or a full-time job.

The classes were very intensive: we went to class 5 days a week for about 2 weeks, then 2 days a week for about 4 weeks. In that timespan, we learned multiple technologies and built an entire web application with many different functionalities. It was a lot of work, but I managed to learn a lot about full stack. Afterwards, the internship during the 4 week period, my fellow interns and I created another functional web application using those technologies we had learned. It was a great learning experience.

Six-weeks ago, I wouldn’t have been able to even tell you what a consultant does, now merely forty-two days later I am one. When I first heard about iX, from my sister, I thought it sounded too good to be true. How could I possibly be able to be placed into a consulting internship after only 2 weeks of class, when previously I knew nothing? There’s no way I would be prepared enough, right? Wrong! The iX experience is hands on and intense in the best way possible. On the first day of class I learned what a consultant does, what the consulting industry is like, learned how to define a client issue, and got assigned to a project team. Day one, I was already beginning to do the work of a consultant. A week later my team, composed of students from across the globe, and I had created a proposal and presented it to the class. That’s CRAZY! Now four weeks later, at the end of my six-week program, I’m working on my final presentation to present to my client. During my internship, my team and I were tasked with quantitatively measuring the sustainable impact of an eco-hostel in Lisbon. We researched best practices, created KPIs, and discovered the requirements necessary for the hostel to become Green Key certified. We were able to create sustainability trackers that the hostel will implement and use to increase their sustainability in the future as well as tangibly show their progress to investors. Now, that I’m at the end, I’m sad to go. I’m going to miss all the amazing people in the program and the beautiful city of Lisbon. My favorite excursion was a trip to Carcavelos for surfing lessons! Besides a few over achievers (lol), no one knew how to surf before the excursion. We showed up, put on our ridiculous looking wetsuits, and carried our boards down to the beach. We spent 10 minutes running around and stretching, in our wet suits I might add, which made us look ridiculous hahah, in order to get our blood pumping. Then they gave us a lesson on the beach where we all attempted to “pop up” into our surfing stances before being released to try it on the water. As I’m sure you can probably imagine, we fell A LOT. But, by the end of the excursion everyone had stood up and surfed for at least 2 seconds, so I’d call it a success. I’ve learned so much, gotten to know so many different people, and would do it all over again in a heartbeat!

I went to Lisbon for iX Summer 2018 and it was honestly the greatest experience. It was my first time in Europe, I knew no one going into it, and I felt unprepared for what we would be learning. From the moment I arrived, however, the program directors made me feel very comfortable and at ease and the whole program went so smoothly. Our teacher was very thorough and genuinely cared about us learning the subject, not just getting some arbitrary grade. My internship was a great opportunity to learn about how data science is used in an actually company and I got along really well with all my co-workers. Our class got really close by the end of it and we all still keep in contact to this day. I got to spend the summer with passionate, like-minded college students from across the country and abroad in an incredible city while learning career-building skills. I cannot imagine a better study/intern abroad program.

Doing Ixperience in Lisbon was truly the greatest four weeks of my life. You are surrounded by brilliant, career-driven students who constantly challenge one another in the classroom and then exploring Lisbon in summer together in between makes all the hard work worth it.

The course I took (management consulting) is intense and fast-paced but I was so surprised at the quality of work I produced when put under pressure to deliver daily deadlines. I found I kept up with the pace with help of my very skilled and enthusiastic teaching assistant, who constantly motivated the class. Now that I am back home, this course has instilled a new drive to kick-start my career upon graduation and I can't wait to apply my new skill-set in the workplace.

Most nights there was something epic planned by the IX team - whether it be a unique traditional Portuguese dinner, a sunset cruise, a classy rooftop bar event or even dancing lessons - this was motivation enough to complete my homework efficiently and join in on the fun. Not to mention - on weekends the team took us on excursions such as: Learning to surf, rock jumping and canoeing, castle tours and wine tasting and of course day trips to the magnificent Portuguese beaches.

Discovering and embracing Lisbon with Ixperience was incredible and the friends I made on the course are surely friends for life. My only regret is that I didn't stay for the four week internship because I really got attached to the place and all the people.