Academy Xi Launches Indigenous Australian UX Design Scholarship with Isobar

Academy Xi announced today their inaugural scholarship with Isobar. The Founding Futures scholarship has been created to offer Indigenous Australians training in User Experience (UX) Design. 

A tuition scholarship will be awarded to a talented individual interested in jump-starting their career in UX Design.

The Founding Futures scholarship is worth $10,000 per intake and will go towards Academy Xi’s 10-week, full-time UX Transform course. The course is created by industry experts and leading practitioners to place students at the forefront of UX Design. The aim of the course is to equip students with the skills, network and knowledge to dive straight into a career in UX Design.

There are no pre-required skills to be eligible for the scholarship, applicants just need a passion for problem-solving and a desire to make a positive impact in the world.

The Founding Futures scholarship aims to:

• Support students in acquiring knowledge in this cutting-edge domain
• Activate User Experience career opportunities for Indigenous Australians
• Assist students in forging professional networks; and
• Provide the necessary experience to find fulfilling and creative employment as a User Experience Designer

For Ben Wong, CEO of Academy Xi, this scholarship is another opportunity to drive diversity in the design industry: “We built Academy Xi to create purpose. We have a lot of plans for doing amazing things in the future, and now our focus is on how to work with top companies to support our vision and empower the community of future designers.”

These skills aren’t currently accessible to everyone. “These are skills that everyone should be learning, and unfortunately not everyone has the access and ability to learn these skills”, the CEO shares. 

We’re constantly seeing professionals upskilling to high-demand careers, but we’re committed to bringing in more students from different backgrounds. Many of our courses don’t require previous industry experience. The UX course requires people with a willingness to learn, an ability to be empathetic, and to have determination.”

Charbel Zeaiter, co-founder of Academy Xi said: “Partnering with Isobar with this wonderful scholarship program is just one part of our aligned vision to create a better human experience. Whilst many companies have diversity and inclusion policies in place, our companies are actively working on ways to create positive environments where we live and breathe diversity and inclusion. Working directly with many of Isobar’s team members in Melbourne, Sydney and Hong Kong, we’re committed to positive change.”

Konrad Spilva, CEO of Isobar Group ANZ said: “In today’s industry of rapidly growing interfaces, UX design has become increasingly important so we are excited to partner with Academy Xi on this scholarship and look forward to empowering the next generation of UX Designers. Programs like this help students excel and succeed when they otherwise might not have the opportunity.

About Academy Xi

Academy Xi is an education technology startup — based in Sydney and Melbourne — dedicated to making a positive global impact and closing the digital skills gap by teaching the skills of the future. They offer professional full-time courses, short courses, and cutting-edge workshops in User Experience Design, Growth Marketing, Service Design, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality.

About Isobar

Isobar is a global, digital agency with 6,000 people in over 85 locations across more than 45 markets united by their capability and experience in unlocking the potential of organisations through digital technology. They are a trusted client partner known for creating innovative products that generate value, supported by compelling and reliable ecosystems and communicated through inspirational marketing. They transform businesses, brands and people’s lives with the creative use of digital.