Mento Design Academy

As a career transitioner, I came to Mento with very little UX knowledge. I found the curriculum to be well-written and engaging. Resources are offered at the end of each topic for additional learning opportunities. Mento also does a great job of building community and keeping students connected by offering student meetings, study groups, a slack channel for discussion and questions, and webinars for continued learning. 
Two things that really stood out to me in this program were the mentors and the ability to pick projects based on your own interests. Many of the mentors are well-known in the UX world and have years of experience to share. My mentor was phenomenal and balanced the curriculum with her real-world knowledge. She guided me through my project, which was based on something I’m passionate about and will be unique to my portfolio. 
One of the reasons I chose Mento is because of the self-paced learning schedule. However, I did struggle to keep up with the curriculum timeline as did some of my classmates. I would keep this in mind if you don’t have a tech or UX background - you may need more time than you think to finish the course. Other students had no problem finishing in the suggested time frame though. 
Lastly, Mento’s staff is wonderful. They are responsive, kind, and supportive. The head of the program even met with me when I had an issue, and basically UXed my issue to improve the situation. I saw changes made in real time and I know they will continue to improve the program based on student needs. I'm so pleased that I chose Mento. 

Selecting a bootcamp can be overwhelming. I almost didn't go with Mento Design Academy. Luckily, I discovered it in the nick of time. To me, the work always speaks for itself and upon comparing portfolios, Mento graduates blew me away! I connected with a few alumni students who generously answered my questions.

Mento offers a unique experience with real-life projects and interviews, invaluable industry feedback from mentors and professionals, and flexible additional sessions if need be. Their curriculum is filled with real-world best practices, and the inclusive international community provides excellent tools and resources.

Mento also stands out by being a tight-knit community - not to mention access to the founder, Radu, who genuinely cares about each student’s success. The community meetings, workshops, coffee chats, and fun challenges are a fantastic bonus. The more you engage, the more you’ll get out of it. Get comfortable with the uncomfortable.

Changing careers is sometimes about playing the long game. It requires commitment, grit and never giving up on yourself and I’m grateful I began with Mento!

Mento Design Academy has a no cookie-cutter, holistic approach to UX design education. From the get-go I was asked to make the learning journey my own - to embrace my previous career and educational background (which wasn't connected to UX) and use that experience to plan out my UX career path. The lessons focused on the bigger picture and we were asked to reflect on the 'why' of each stage of the UX process, rather than simply following a procedure. Coming into the course, I was worried about the little details like how to create visually striking User Interfaces, but the course had thought me the importance of "Understanding the problem, before hurrying to find solutions." Though frustrating initially, because of presumptions I had of what User Experience is about, this mature approach to UX made sense as the course progressed. I leaned into it and focused on skills like user research. For the portfolio projects, I was again asked to find design problems that concerned and interested me, rather than working on a generic prompt like "Designing a ticketing app for a Space tourism company." 
Throughout the process, what was invaluable was the constant guidance of the mentor assigned to me and the support of an active student/mentors/alumni community. I met once a week with my mentor who was an industry professional. He was always open to questions and gave comprehensive answers. His guidance in each stage went beyond the textbook and I was challenged to think deeper about a problem in each stage. The course content itself is really well put together however, and it followed a logical progression, which clarified most of the questions I had along the way on it's own. 
Saying all that, considering the vastness of the topic that is UX design, I've realised that the learning doesn't stop after bootcamp. I have to especially get better with my UI skills, which isn't given as much concentration in the curriculum. Everything cannot be done in 6 months or 9 months (I took 9). Thankfully, since I get to be a part of the community for a lifetime, I think I can keep learning and stay up-to-date.

Mento is a perfect choice for a person who wants to transition to UX design. They provided much information on the subject that helped me learn all the basic design concepts. Weekly meetings with my mentor also helped me immensely; he was very knowledgeable with years of work in the design field and could answer all my questions. Moreover, Mento has a Slack channel that includes other valuable resources. Also, you can contact other students; they try to keep it interesting with design challenges and Zoom meetings with people working in the design field and many other things. People at Mento genuinely care about their students.

I chose Mento because of the affordability and mentorship program. It did not disappoint! I am in the process of transitioning from healthcare into UX and the program is structured in a way in which it can make any transition/career switch happen smoothly. The weekly meetings with my mentor were key to my success! It gave me the confidence, the guidance, and the feedback I needed to succeed. The bootcamp itself is also well structured and comprehensive. Everyone at Mento is so nice and they want to see you succeed. I definitely recommend this bootcamp!

I had a good experience with Mento Design Academy! A few key factors made me choose Mento over other boot camps. First, the price was very reasonable compared to other options out there. It made it much more affordable for me to pursue my goals.

Secondly, the weekly one-on-one mentor sessions were an amazing resource. I found them to be helpful in my learning journey. It was great to have someone to guide me and offer personalised advice and feedback.

Another thing that stood out to me about Mento was the opportunity to work on more personalised portfolio projects. I had the freedom to choose a project that aligned with my interests and career goals. It made the whole experience more meaningful and relevant to my future plans.

One thing to note is that the program can be quite intensive, especially if you're also working or studying full-time. Finishing the program by completing one test project and three portfolio projects in just six months can be challenging. I personally only completed one project before graduating, and I know others who finished one to two projects before graduating also. It seems like most people take longer than the initial six-month timeframe.

Overall, Mento Design Academy is a good boot camp. They provide you with a dedicated mentor and a vibrant and supportive community on Slack. If you're looking for a well-rounded and sociable learning experience, Mento is definitely worth considering.

I really enjoyed being a part of Mento while I was maneuvering my career change into UX Design. Out of all the programs out there to choose from I thought Mento was going to be the best fit for my learning style. The program was designed in a way that helped me understand the role of a UX Designer at my own pace. I was lucky enough to have a great mentor, Alex. He helped me through the challenges I faced throughout the course and also helped me manage my moments of low motivation to get through the course.  The way the course is structured  allowed me the flexibility to learn at my own pace which made a huge difference in how I retained the information provided. The community itself is very inviting which is comforting for someone stepping into a new career path. The slack channel is always buzzing and provides a space for all the resources one would need when they begin their UX Design journey. I’m very happy with my time at Mento and all that I gained out of my experience.

I have highly praised Mento to all my friends for the quality of many aspects such as the very well organised curriculum with A to Z techniques and methods, a kind and welcoming community, on Slack, where you can participate as much as you want and need; there’s always something happening and your help and feedback are always appreciated by colleagues in their projects, everyone is very supportive. What brings it all together is a wonderful group of mentors, extremely open and sincere, motivating and supportive. Ioana is my mentor and I couldn't be happier. Ever since our first meeting, I knew that we would get along great; I really admire her and her humour is my type of humour and I think that’s great :) her experience is impressive and she’s very dedicated to the Mento community as well as Radu, they make a great team! Radu is the first contact I had with Mento and after one hour of talking I knew I wanted to join their community; his past experience is very inspiring, as well as the initiative of building this awesome platform that is so helpful for many of us in different parts of the globe. 

I recently graduated from Mento Design Academy, and I can only say that I am so grateful to the mentors and the community. It has been a very steep learning curve, but there are plenty of people to help you get there. It took me 7 months to graduate (a little longer than I planned, due to circumstances). By the time I finished I had 2 portfolio projects and I felt confident that I was ready to continue learning in a real work environment. Mento also offers career support for 6 months after graduation, and you'll remain a part of the community forever!

I chose Mento over other UX bootcamps because it was one of the few programs out there that was created by designers with their own unique content. Other bootcamps graduate hundreds, even thousands of students every month. Mento has a smaller, tight-knit community that made me feel seen and cared for as a student. I've graduated now, and I still get check-ins from my mentor and even the founder of the bootcamp regarding my UX journey. Although the program is remote, I never once felt like I was alone throughout the course. They foster a vibrant community via Slack, host weekly student community meetings, pair you up with a student buddy and of course a Mentor who is a leader in their industry. All these aspects helped me keep the momentum going even now, post graduation. If I did it again, I would absolutely choose Mento! 

Mento Design Academy is an amazing place to learn design skills and build a unique portfolio that caters to my interest and the industry I want to work in in the future. The community is incredibly friendly and supportive, and they encourage you to develop your own style and approach to design. You'll get 1:1 mentorship from experienced designers who can help you hone your skills and provide personalized feedback. Overall, I highly recommend Mento for anyone looking for a personalized, supportive, and fun design learning experience.

Enrolling in a bootcamp is an investment that requires commitment, time, effort, and money. You want to know that you are making the right decision. My first admissions call with Raluca sealed the deal. It was clear that she loved what she was doing and that she was passionate about supporting and encouraging others who also wanted to embark on the UX/UI journey. Several months into the program and it’s safe to say that I have not looked back once.  Before starting the bootcamp I had the lingering fear that I would complete it still feeling wholly unprepared to step into a UX/UI role. Even though there’s a lot more to learn, I now feel confident that this will not be the case. Let me explain why. The curriculum is carefully curated, diving into the theory you need to get started. It is interesting and thought provoking. The curriculum is broken up nicely and allows you to learn something, followed by a well-thought-out task where you practically apply and explore what you’ve learnt. Which brings me to my next point: mentors! Every student gets paired with a mentor that works in the field. My sessions with Pia have been a game changer for me. The weekly meetings have allowed me to ask questions, get feedback and reflect on my tasks, share my challenges, and gain valuable insights. As a bonus I’ve also gotten to know a wonderful human! Another thing I absolutely love about Mento is the community. It’s a wonderfully supportive and encouraging community of fellow students, graduates, and mentors. Mento creates loads of opportunities for students to connect with one another by assigning you a bootcamp buddy and running biweekly student community meetings. They also host awesome events with experts in the field. Last but not least, Mento encourages you to choose portfolio projects you want to work on. This really allows you to explore what it is you are most interested in, in the field. This ultimately aids you in building a portfolio that speaks to who you are as a designer.  It's important to mention that what you choose to put into it also plays a role in your experience. Mento provides the knowledge, hands-on experience, resources and community you need. I would highly recommend Mento Design Academy to students who are looking to transition to UX/UI Design. 

There are many invaluable experiences from learning with Mento, which I'm forever grateful for, the most meaningful for me is that Mento allows me to be myself in my learning journey. This has totally changed the way I learn. At the beginning they guided me to get to know myself better, what my goals are, my unique background, my super powers, my learning style, how to manage time to be productive, and this really is a big push for me. Mento understands that everyone is unique and their journey & pace is different. My journey to design is a bumpy one, there are external & internal obstacles, and it's very heartwarming that Mento created such an environment when I can be open about all these. Not only that, they helped me to find solutions to be able to move forward. I'm also very thankful for the people in the community for how warm, supportive, caring they are (the mentors, students, and support team). The community that would celebrate with you during good times, lift you up during the tough times, and always be there in between in your learning journey. It's a privilege to learn from Mento curriculum, the structure, the materials and practical assignments making it easy to understand and follow through, but even when things got blurry, I know that I always have the community I can turn to & the mentors who are the industry experts I can learn a lot from. Another big push for me during my learning journey is that Mento curriculum always asks us to train our why muscle with their assignments, to find & to explore the reasoning behind the design decisions. All in all, Mento is beyond educational platform, it's also a community that cares for us as a person and our dream in design.

Joining Mento was an excellent decision for someone like me who is very new to design. The bootcamp provided a clear structured path for my learning journey while still allowing a personalized approach that allowed me to focus on topics that interested me, a supportive community of fellow designers, and a career support after completing the program – basically, everything that I was looking for in a design bootcamp!  

• Structure: There is A LOT of UX resources out there. If you're like me, you probably don't know where to start and would be overwhelmed even before starting. Mento's curriculum was well-organized and up-to-date, providing step-by-step guidance on everything from the basics of design to preparing for job interviews. While some sections required a lot of reading and watching, the associated assignments helped me to apply what I had learned and my mentor gave me helpful feedbacks on the assignment, which helped further my learning.

• Personalized journey:  A core part of this program is your weekly 1:1 mentor sessions where you and your assigned mentor can discuss anything related to your progress in the program. Although Mento provides a recommended structure for your learning, ultimately, it is up to you, with the guidance of your mentor, on how to approach certain parts of the program. This is especially the case when you start working on your first design project. Furthermore, I greatly appreciate the flexibility Mento offers in choosing the topics for the design projects, as I know other bootcamps don't offer this. Your mentor will guide you to ensure that the topics you choose for your projects can make you stand out later and are achievable during the program. As you can probably tell, your mentorship is a very important part in your journey, so it is crucial to find a mentor that you think fits well with you! Mento sends out feedback forms after every mentor sessions to ensure that you are receiving the best mentorship for yourself. If things does not work out initially, don't worry, as you will be able to switch mentors. I learned so much from my mentor every session, and am very grateful for Mento in facilitating this relationship.

• Community:  As a very introverted person, I'm even surprised to say that Mento's community was one of the highlights of my experience. Once you join the program, you will be able to connect with fellow Mento students, and design professionals (other than your Mentor). Various activities like regular student meetings, UI challenges, and guest speaker events gave me the opportunity to engage with fellow designers and learn more from them. Additionally, the student support team (shout out to them!) will always be there if you need anything. The support from the community was very invaluable, and I am very grateful to have met so many wonderful people from the program!! 

• Career Support: Mento provides a 1:1 career support session after you graduate that is available for 6 months. You can book a call with a professional (it can be one of the mentors) anytime. I only graduated recently so I can't say too much yet, but I don't doubt the quality of support given the experience I had in the past 6-7 months. 

Overall, while I do believe that your efforts will ultimately determine your experience and outcome, Mento provides numerous resources to assist their students in succeeding, and I am confident that if you put in the necessary effort, you will be pleased with the results. Thus, I highly recommend this program to anyone who wants to jumpstart their design career!

If you still have questions or concerns, make sure to book a call with one of the admissions staff through their website before deciding. But, if you are interested, you can use this affiliate link ( https://mentodesign.academy/?via=bmhzwm ) to receive $100 off! 

Regardless of your decision, I wish you all the best in your design journey :)

If you’re reading this, then you’re most likely searching for the best UX bootcamp available. You’ve made a commitment to yourself to learn UX, and you want to choose the best option, but there are a lot of choices. When I was researching what educational path I should pursue, I was a bit overwhelmed by all the options. Maybe you’re in the same boat. You’ll need to determine your preferred style of learning. How much structure do you need? Is it essential that the timeline is flexible? Is mentorship important? What type of projects will be in my portfolio? In the end, you’ll choose the bootcamp that is right for you. It will offer you the curriculum and support you need and will be within your budget.
As a current Mento student, I can confidently say that my journey has been incredible. They’ve developed a top-tier UX bootcamp that stands out from all the rest. There are a lot of great things about Mento, but here are my top four:

1. Self-paced curriculum
2. 1:1 mentorship
3. Individualized portfolio projects
4. International community

Self-paced curriculum

If you’re like me, then you have a lot going on. Maybe you’re working full-time or have life commitments that take a lot of your energy. You might be worried that you can’t fit a UX bootcamp into your schedule. My number one doubt when enrolling was whether I’d have enough time for the assignments. Mento is self-paced, meaning that the curriculum moves at your speed. Maybe you fly through one of the sections, but then need to spend more time on the next section, that’s totally fine. This type of learning isn’t for everyone, but if you have a good support system and maintain a consistent study schedule, you can do it!

1:1 mentorship

Mentorship is where Mento thrives. The weekly 1:1 calls are awesome! You can chat about your assignments, discuss industry news, ask questions, and learn from their experience. In addition to the calls, the mentors and community are available throughout the week in Slack. So if you’re stuck or have a question, you can reach out for help and know that you’re not alone.
Having an experienced mentor who is dedicated to helping you succeed is invaluable. My mentor is extremely encouraging, but also offers an adequate level of challenge, which is super helpful.

Individualized portfolio projects

Unlike many other bootcamps, Mento allows you to choose your own unique projects. This is awesome because you get to build a portfolio that reflects the industry you’re passionate about. I’ve really enjoyed this approach because it’s taught me how to discover design problems through research, instead of just having the design prompt provided. It also positions you to have a unique portfolio that directly relates to your desired field.
Coming up with unique projects may sound overwhelming, but that’s part of the journey. You’ll do research to uncover opportunities and work on creating digital solutions that are efficient, effective, and fun.

International community

Mento is made up of mentors and students from all over the world. This wasn’t one of my deciding factors in choosing Mento, but I’ve come to love the international community. I’ve made connections with other peers and professionals from all over the world.

Wait, there’s more…

They also have UI challenges, weekly study groups, and Meetup events. Oh, and every student gets a bootcamp buddy. This is super cool because you’ll have someone who’s going through the program alongside you. Together, we find support and encourage each other to excel.
The truth is, Mento keeps getting better! They are consistently updating the curriculum so that the info is relevant and up-to-date. They are building partnerships with interactive design tools, such as ProtoPie and Overflow. I can say firsthand that as a student, this is awesome! I’m able to gain hands-on experience with some of the most popular UX tools. They’re continuing to add experienced industry professionals to the Mento community, including both stellar mentors as well as recruiters.
I’d love for you to come join the Mento family, but I encourage you first to schedule a call and ask all of your questions. It’s important that your questions are answered so that you have peace about choosing your bootcamp.
If Mento sounds like the correct fit and you’re ready to take the next step, you can use the link below and receive a $100 discount.
https://mentodesign.academy/?via=patrick
Regardless of whether you choose Mento or another bootcamp, I hope your UX journey is full of insight, creativity, and joy!

I spent a good amount of time researching for which bootcamps to join before I finally decided on Mento, mainly because of how the projects are personalised to you and are not the typical cookie-cutter projects. 

Curriculum: 
Holistic curriculum which teaches everything you need to know and provides extra resources you can read up on to have a better understanding. It starts off with your goals and your background and strengths and how you can channel that into your future design career, followed by how to learn and manage effectively. You will go do a simple project to go through the main design process before going into your first project proper! The content and structure is really well-thought through and builds on the previous which helps solidifying your understanding and knowledge. The assignments are really useful in training you to reflect and think of the purpose of why you are doing a certain thing. 

Mentor Sessions:
We are to set weekly mentor calls to keep ourselves accountable as well as to clarify any doubts and questions that we have, to talk about the assignments that we've done. I found this really helpful and useful, also having someone who have been in the design industry for years really helps you understand how it is like working as a UX designer. Personally, I would prefer the feedback of assignments to be given before the mentor session so that changes could be made before the call to make it a more productive session. Other than that, it fulfills what I needed.

Community:
There is also study group sessions where you can talk to other students who are doing the programme together with you. Personally, I didn't really get the chance to join them due to the timings, but I really like that I got paired up with a buddy who is also doing the programme and it is really helpful that you have someone who understands that you can talk to and discuss about the assignments, help to encourage each other and to become friends with! I also really enjoyed the webinar sessions and found them really insightful since you get people who have been in the industry for years to talk about you've been wanting to know.

Overall: 
I would recommend this programme to anyone who would like to transition into UX design, it is not easy but it is possible! I managed to get 2 internship offers after completing first main project and it would not have been possible without Mento! It equipped me with the skills and knowledge that I needed and the constant practice of understanding the whys really helped!

Mento strives to offer you everything you need for your future career without unnecessary noise, which is extremely rare to find nowadays: a structured curriculum with accurate information, perfectly balanced by practical assignments, warm mentorship sessions that help you develop your knowledge and get into the right mindset, and last but not least, a fantastic community of students and Design professionals. A rare combination of assets that makes me proud to be their student.

I got my first UX Design job during my last month in the Bootcamp, and I was ready to tackle design challenges and be independent. They don't just "teach" you what you need to know; you learn how to understand the processes and ask yourself the purpose behind every decision. You learn to bring arguments, speak up, and understand and articulate your choices. I've never seen this in any learning program I've been into, not to mention school. 

Even though they offer you a well-needed structure, think of it as more of a guidance system. Everything is tailored to you, your particular needs, skills, expectations, time, and effort you put into learning - with the risk of using a cliché: they actually help you be the best version of yourself in terms of Design. Even though you have weekly mentorship sessions, they are always ready to offer support if needed, if you get stuck, or if you have a question. You are never alone during this learning process; you also get to interact with and learn from other students.

If you are looking for a way to transition into UX Design, this is a gem! They are constantly offering everything you need to become a successful UX Designer; it just depends on you to learn as much as you can!

Great curriculum full of valuable information, interesting and demanding assignments, a mentor who is guiding me and motivating me throughout my learning journey, a supportive community, and lovely and motivating student group sessions - these are some of the most important things to know about Mento Design Academy for someone who wants to learn UI/UX Design. 

As someone who is changing her career path from journalism to UX/UI Design, I did plenty of research and preparation before I have choose Mento. And I did not regret it any second. 

What they do is so great and you can feel all that energy, modesty, knowledge, and optimism on the whole learning path. They are also helping us to find our way and to be strategic about our careers. 

Even after we finish our Bootcamp, we get their support and guidance which is also one of the huge differentiators from others. I am also a mum and having their support in that context also means the world to me. 

To sum it up - the best UI/UX Design Bootcamp out there. And I can see this is just a beginning of a wonderful and successful story!

"My mentorship sessions gave me the professional and personal guidance I needed to transition into UX Design."
The best part of Mento Design Academy for me is the mentorship program. My mentorship sessions gave me the professional and personal guidance I needed to transition into UX Design. I couldn't be happier with my experience! I thought the curriculum was very well organized, and the materials were educational and easy to follow. I also enjoyed the family-like slack community and networking opportunities Mento offered, which helped me learn UX without feeling alone:)

It’s one of the best investment I’ve done in my life! I enjoyed my learning with the curriculum, my mentor and my peers! I really appreciate that the mento team constantly iterates to provide us a better learning experience and a supportive community. The curriculum does not only teach you things you need to know to complete your Bootcamp projects but things you need to know as a UX professional! What surprised me is that even though I haven't completed my bootcamp, I already got referrals to interview and now I am really grateful that I am doing an internship program in Europe which has been my goal for a long time.