How to innovate extraordinary solutions in extraordinary times?
May 17, 2021
COOi successfully launches COOi Climate Tech at Mining Indaba ’23
February 28, 2023My experience at COOi Studios for my experiential training requirements
Respect, tenacity, integrity, agility, and an entrepreneurial spirit are the values that COOi has incorporated into their business model, operations, culture and to me. My name is Likho Mhlwana, as a final year student at Inscape Design College, I partook in a six-week experiential training internship with the COOi family. Since my course has the potential to span multiple sectors, I think the training at COOi has enabled to me think introspectively about what I want to do with my degree. While I initially thought I would need to find a niche – be it production, UX/UI, change management, idea validation or business consulting, I now realise that I don’t have to choose! I can carve my path one step at a time and ensure I take in and utilise all the opportunities that come my way.
The most exciting part of my training was the exposure I gained working with COOi on some of their current projects. I got to sit in on meeting proceedings, take notes on project delivery steps, conduct interviews, and contribute my design skills to the overall aesthetic of communications. My supervisor, Studio Director, Sandiso Sibisi, was a straightforward mentor who took note of my skills, leveraging them and contributing to them. Her work ethic made it easy for me to be open, explore and extend my personality and talent to the COOi family.
At COOi, I realised that agility is a necessary to create an impact because it motivates employees to upskill themselves and grow into successful adults with capabilities beyond what they learnt in their courses.
The most exciting part of my training was the exposure I gained working with COOi on some of their current projects. I got to sit in on meeting proceedings, take notes on project delivery steps, conduct interviews, and contribute my design skills to the overall aesthetic of communications. My supervisor, Studio Director, Sandiso Sibisi, was a straightforward mentor who took note of my skills, leveraging them and contributing to them. Her work ethic made it easy for me to be open, explore and extend my personality and talent to the COOi family.
At COOi, I realised that agility is a necessary to create an impact because it motivates employees to upskill themselves and grow into successful adults with capabilities beyond what they learnt in their courses. However, it also helps to have a system of mental support to cater to the headspace of the employees. Everyone at COOi is excellent at what they do, and they ensure the space is right for everyone else to perform at their best. Mental capability and headspace support is a feature that would only enhance the physical capabilities of an excellent workforce. Despite that, COOi is a family, and the most enjoyable aspect of my experience was the culture. Alternating between going to the office and working virtually, I spent enough in-person time with the team to feel comfortable in their space and immerse myself in their conversations, the chit chat, the brainstorming (and the snacks!). My biggest highlight was my farewell lunch, where we got to have a delicious three-course meal and play 30 seconds. The farewell made me realize how much this experience meant to me and, most importantly, to the people in my environment.
At COOi, I realised that agility is a necessary to create an impact because it motivates employees to upskill themselves and grow into successful adults with capabilities beyond what they learnt in their courses. However, it also helps to have a system of mental support to cater to the headspace of the employees. Everyone at COOi is excellent at what they do, and they ensure the space is right for everyone else to perform at their best. Mental capability and headspace support is a feature that would only enhance the physical capabilities of an excellent workforce. Despite that, COOi is a family, and the most enjoyable aspect of my experience was the culture. Alternating between going to the office and working virtually, I spent enough in-person time with the team to feel comfortable in their space and immerse myself in their conversations, the chit chat, the brainstorming (and the snacks!). My biggest highlight was my farewell lunch, where we got to have a delicious three-course meal and play 30 seconds. The farewell made me realize how much this experience meant to me and, most importantly, to the people in my environment.
I also thoroughly enjoyed the Nestlé Generation Equality event where I got to see female innovators and groundbreakers inspire me with their stories. It made me realise that I could do much more than I thought – that I have the potential to create a lasting impact within a work environment and, most importantly, within the industry. COOi supported my training in ways that exceeded the course brief that my institution stipulated. As my supervisor, Sandiso went above and beyond to ensure my skills were not wasted but enhanced. I got to attend online events where I learnt about innovative legal solutions, the POPIA Act and facilitating workshops. I was entrusted with presentations, writeups, interfaces, brainstorming tasks, consulting, and I learnt how to use a SMEG kettle. I will never live down how on my first day I had iced tea by force because I was too shy to ask for help. However, this experience has made me more confident in myself. I often struggle to assure myself and suffer from analysis paralysis, but that has changed because COOi made me a part of a team even though I was only an extended part of it. I have gained significant insight into the management and creation of innovative solutions that affect our society. My design skills were able to adapt to requirements. I had access to COOi software platforms which extended my technical capabilities, and most of all, I have matured since starting my training. My future is attainable beyond my comprehension, and having applied myself to COOi’s values, I leave with skills I never thought I’d have… including how to operate the latest SMEG kettle.
im
