Fellowship Experience: Aishwarya Jare

Aishwarya Jare, a part of C-4 of the Product Design Fellowship, has been working at ownpath as a part-time service designer & researcher for a while now. She recently also moved onto a full-time role as a service design consultant for Dr Reddy’s Laboratories. Alongside her daily job, she’s also working on a collaborative project with ownpath mentor Shivani Gupta.

We caught up with her to find out how her experience as a Fellow, and working for ownpath, had been. Here’s what she had to say!

“I came across the ownpath Product Design Fellowship in April 2022 when I was on the lookout for new opportunities.

I was mulling over many things when making my decision to apply for the Fellowship.  Alongside wanting to upskill myself, I also wanted rigorous guidance on my portfolio and interview preparation. Apart from that, some of the masterclasses from the curriculum attracted me - design psychology, design ethics and data & design. Since I graduated as a graphic designer and was not exposed to these subjects, I have been exploring them myself! However, I was also keen to learn from experts in the subject matter. This convinced me to apply for the fellowship.

The masterclasses have been truly stimulating and enriching, especially those tackling data and design. My love for psychology and design was reignited after the masterclass by Shivani Gupta. As a matter of fact, I am currently working on a collaborative project with her! And that is what I loved the most about the fellowship - the team and mentors are incredibly brilliant and kind. During the Fellowship, I feel like I have been able to identify gaps in my design practice through my conversations with mentors and address the gaps in a very nuanced and practical way. The resources helped too!

Arnab, Shivani and Akshay, also mentors at ownpath, helped me prepare for my interviews and design challenges. This was pivotal in helping me find my voice and confidence. It eventually helped me land a job as a Service and Interaction Designer with Accenture Song Design in Germany amongst other companies.

A few months ago, ownpath also offered me an opportunity to work with them as a part-time service designer and researcher. In my new role, I have been conducting research to improve the fellowship experience and design new programs. My most rewarding experience? How quickly my insights are put into action! I usually have a call with Shreyas at the beginning of the week to present insights and some of them are already being implemented by mid-week.

If you are looking for a new opportunity, want to be a part of a design community, upskill in specific areas or learn while working, ownpath is the right place for you. You can use the fellowship to fulfil your own needs and address your challenges - you just need to ask and the team will do everything they can to help you!”

If you’re a designer, you can join our Product Design Fellowship. The next cohort begins soon!

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