INTERNATIONAL SUMMER COURSES

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
International Summer Courses is a start-up that aims to partner with institutions worldwide to bring users the best summer academic courses in Europe, Latin America and North America. Their unique platform lets users explore multiple programs at the same time, contact the institution directly, and submit their application in just one click.
ROLE
Research, User Stories, Journey Maps, Sketching, Wireframing, Ideation, Visual Design

PROBLEM SPACE

Students looking for international summer courses have to go to individual websites to search for courses and programs. There isn't a way to search for multiple international summer camps on one website.

International Summer Courses is looking to streamline this process by creating a database of programs throughout the U.S., Europe and Latin America.

Competitive analysis

VOLUNTEER FOREVER

PROS
• Search for volunteer projects worldwide
• Search by project type and location
• Causes and projects have user reviews

CONS

• Search filters are not on programs page
• Poor navigation


OXFORD SUMMER COURSES

PROS
• Offers academic courses to 9-24 yr olds
• Basic filters on home page
• Testimonials from students

CONS
• Does not offer courses from other institutions
• No sign-up option to save courses


KEYSTONE ACADEMIC

PROS
• Lists courses from around the world
• Basic and advanced filters are easy to use
• Add to Favorites and Add to Comparison options

CONS
• Limited info for courses on site
• Majority of courses are for college level students


Interviews

For our initial interviews, we spoke with students who have either taken or are interested in applying to academic summer courses.  All of those who have researched courses had a similar experience -- it is time consuming and confusing.   The majority of students were interested in programs that were recommended to them or one with name recognition.  

SECONDARY RESEARCH

While researching the target market and existing products, we learned that the summer course / camp industry is rapidly growing.
•  The market size of the summer camps industry in the United States is $3.8 billion in 2021.
•  The market size of the summer camps industry is expected to increase 1.4% in 2021.
"These experiences help children develop the healthy emotional and social skills necessary to grow into strong, considerate, competent adults."
-American Camp Association
"Summer courses give your student a better chance at having a successful school year."
-A Grade Ahead
"The way students learn is changing. We have to offer them an opportunity to experience subjects applicable to future careers"
-Pew Research

PERSONAS

Robert Kay

Age: 47
Location:  Seattle
Occupation:  Doctor





ABOUT 
Robert is married with 2 kids, aged 12 and 16.
He works very long hours and doesn't have a lot of free time. 
MOTIVATIONS 
He wants his kids to attend summer camps to become more independent and self-confident.
He believes having them travel internationally will expand their horizons and help them academically.
CORE NEEDS
•  Find the best summer camp as quickly as possible
•  Receive professional advice about which camp to choose
•  Easily search for camps that parter with volunteer organizations

PAIN POINTS
•  He does not know where to start looking for camps
•  He has gone on countless websites researching and comparing programs
•  Lost track of which courses were his favorites choices
•  Works long hours and does not have a lot of time for research

ABOUT 
Grace is a senior in high school. She is very interested in engineering and wants to study computer science when she goes to college. 
MOTIVATIONS 
She wants to learn coding and software development.  Grace thinks that attending academic summer classes will help her get into her top college choices.
CORE NEEDS
•  To search for summer camps easily
•  To see many summer camp options on one website
•  Search for camps with school credits

PAIN POINTS
•  Going to countless websites to look for courses
•  Knowing which camps are reputable
•  Finding a way to easily search for international courses by subject

Grace Johns

Age: 17
Location:  New Jersey
Grade:  High School Senior



HOW MIGHT WE.....

How might we help students find international courses in one place?

When conducting interviews, it became apparent that searching for summer courses was frustrating and time consuming.  Working with reputable schools and universities, we can provide a database of courses that users can easily search for specific locations and interests.

How might we help students find summer volunteer programs?

If we partner with local and international non-profit organizations, we can offer volunteer courses.

How might we help students find courses where they can receive college credits?

By partnering with colleges and universities, we are able to offer courses that provide college credits.

How might we help parents and students save their favorite courses?

Users are able to save courses to favorites to easily compare courses at a later date.  

How might we help students find courses that cater to their specific interests?

By adding detailed filtering options, users can find courses that align with their educational needs and interests.

USER JOURNEY

WIREFRAMES

For our initial interviews, we spoke with students who have either taken, or are interested in applying to academic summer courses. All of those who have researched courses had a similar experience -- it is time consuming and confusing. The majority of students were interested in programs that were recommended to them or one with name recognition.  

USABILITY TESTING

For the International Summer Camps testing sessions, we interviewed 6 people.  
Each participant was give 3 tasks to complete:
* SEARCH FOR A SUMMER COURSE
* SELECT A SUMMER COURSE
* FILTER COURSES
There were three critical issues that needed to be addressed:
Additional filters button on the home page was not visible to 2 of 3 users. We removed this option from the page.
Additional filters "pop up" window was difficult to view on mobile devices.  We removed the "pop up" screen.
We added in a calendar to better filter out courses.  On our first iteration, we had listed simply 4 season so users could not search specific dates.

STYLE GUIDE

High fidelity screens

We incorporated feedback from our usability testing into our high-fidelity screens.

PROTOTYPE

NEXT STEPS

Once there are a significant number of courses in the database, it would be helpful for users to easily compare courses.  We would like to create a comparison feature that would allow users to quickly see the differences in the courses.  Our second priority would be allowing uses to share specific courses with via social media, email or text.   Lastly, I'd like to add testimonials and user reviews to the site.

CONCLUSION

01

There is a strong need for a trusted database of international summer camps.  

02

Matching student and parents with reputable organizations would benefit both the user and provider.

03

By creating this website, it would save users countless hours of research.
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