IBM Extreme Blue - 2016–2020
Leading design in IBM's prestigious internship program
Overview
IBM Extreme Blue is IBM’s prestigious summer internship program which operates in IBM sites across the world. IBM Hursley is one of these sites, and for twelve weeks every summer the studio is transformed. Sixteen interns embark on a mission to create the best possible solutions for their clients. It’s a fast paced, caffeine fuelled, emotional roller-coaster which leaves everyone involved exhausted and enchanted.
My role
For two years I operated as the design lead for the Extreme blue program in IBM Hursley, and have mentored teams for a total of 4 years. In this time I instigated a re-structuring of the program, hiring design interns for the first time and mentored 4+ teams. Throughout the years I have been responsible for:
- Recruitment
- Selecting project briefs
- Organising project mentors
- Organising design thinking workshops with the clients
- Mentoring teams
- Organising education sessions
- Organising social events
Mentoring
Since getting involved with Extreme Blue I’ve had the opportunity to mentor four teams (plus some additions). Each of these teams have worked on a different client brief, and all of them have had their own unique challenges. For each of these teams I’ve provided education and guidance on the design thinking process, I’ve hosted design thinking workshop with the client to kick off each project, and provided continual coaching on the research, prototyping, user testing, prioritisation, and implementation phases throughout the summer.
Clients
Testimony
Jill Robinson
Joe has continued to make an outstanding contribution to the Extreme Blue Programme since his involvement. He was instrumental in changing the dynamics of the teams to include the Design students which went down really well and changed the outcomes dramatically. Joe has helped set up the initial Design workshops with the customers which was a great start to the 12 weeks and set the scene perfectly. Joe's input to the teams he's mentored was very much appreciated and the students all spoke very highly of him. Joe has also supported other teams and encouraged the less experienced Design Mentors which made a huge difference. I cant thank Joe enough for his support and I hope he will continue to be involved going forward.