Overview Problem The Work Process Decisions Impact Plates

Noah Koshy

Designer · Sydney

Case № 04 Industry

Apple Foundation Program - Mentor

Five months after graduating from the Apple Foundation Program @UTS, I returned as the sole graduate of my cohort to become a mentor, and the youngest mentor in its history, delivering design and storytelling sessions to 5 cohorts over the next 10 months.

RoleDesign & Storytelling Mentor & Facilitator

Team8 people

TimelineAPR 2025 – JAN 2026

ROLES INCLUDEDDesign & Storytelling

Note to self

Members of the mentor team.

The sixty-second version

Problem

I had to deliver the design and storytelling content to five very different cohorts, which included people older and with more years of experience than me.

What I did

I mentored and facilitated the design and storytelling portions of the program, taking the initiative to lead and run the teaching for portions of it.

Result

I completed 5 cohorts over a 10-month period, as the sole graduate of my cohort to become a mentor and the youngest mentor in the program's history at UTS.

5 cohorts: 1 UTS + UTS Startups, 1 UTS, 1 asylum seeker + refugee, 2 high school cohorts

Sole graduate: of my cohort to become a mentor following graduation

Youngest mentor: in the program's history at UTS

↓ More details below if you want the reasoning.

§ 01

The Problem

Each cohort arrived with a different background, and the same design and storytelling content had to work for all of them.

"The goal is to support students making it good enough to get to the next step, rather than making it perfect."

What I couldn't change

01 5 aforementioned cohorts over a 10-month period.

02 Cohorts had a mix of people with, at times, more academic experience or corporate and working experience than I did.

03 Much of the content came from the program's existing curriculum, so my focus was on how it was delivered.

§ 02

The Work

Instances of the design and storytelling sessions I delivered across five cohorts.

Noah presenting to a cohort, beside a screen reading “2: The problem / user story”.

Plate 01. Presenting the problem and user story stage of the program to a cohort.

Noah facilitating the Problem/Opportunity Statement canvas, shown on two screens, in front of a cohort.

Plate 02. Facilitating the Problem/Opportunity Statement, where each team frames who they are designing for, what they need, and why.

Noah leading a cohort on a walkthrough, holding an iPad, with the group gathered around him.

Plate 03. A demonstration of the "reframing the problem" approach to real-life and day-to-day problems and situations.

§ 03

How I got there

The program from a mentor's side, from the first sessions through to the final stories. Faces of younger students in Fig. a, b and c have been blurred for privacy purposes.

Noah presenting a session on Apple's Human Interface Guidelines.

Fig. a — Human Interface Guidelines, early in the program.

Dead end

Delivering every session the same way, when what worked for UTS students did not always work for a high school cohort.

Noah facilitating a Findings & Synthesis session, with the steps from guiding questions to a refined challenge on screen.

Fig. b — Findings & Synthesis, where research becomes a refined challenge.

Noah facilitating a group discussion with a cohort.

Fig. c — facilitating group discussion.

Noah with other mentors and members of a cohort around a table of laptops.

Fig. d — the mentor team with a cohort.

Kept

Supporting the rest of the mentor team, as well as delivering my own sessions.

…then each cohort and each group built their own applications.

Keep scrolling — the wall moves sideways

§ 04 — Decisions & trade-offs

Every cohort needed the same content, delivered differently and tailored to the students.

Three decisions, from applying to be a mentor through to how I delivered the sessions.

/ 03

Decision 01

Applying to mentor straight after graduating

Chose

Expressed my interest in becoming a mentor after graduating, articulating the value I would bring, backed by my active support for my team and the wider cohort while I was still a student.

Gave up

Time outside of my studies and work, which I planned around to make this possible.

Why

I was the sole graduate of my cohort to return as a mentor, and the youngest in the program's history.

Decision 02

Joining the Alumni Board as well

Chose

Expressed interest in joining the Alumni Board at the same time, planning and organising events for graduates of the program.

Gave up

Even more of my time, with two roles at once.

Why

Due to the high standard of work and accountability I held myself to, I joined the Alumni Board before the conclusion of my first cohort as a mentor, and was actively involved for a little over a year.

Decision 03

Adapting the delivery for each cohort

Chose

Adjusted how the design and storytelling content was delivered for each cohort, from the high school students, to the university and startup students, to the refugee & asylum seeker students.

Gave up

Delivering every session the same way, which would have been quicker and easier to prepare for.

Why

The content only helps when each team can apply it to their own learning journey.

§ 05

Impact & what I'd change

My first time on the other side of the program.

Looking back

I successfully completed my time as a mentor for 5 cohorts over a 10-month period, delivering course content and supporting the rest of the mentor team, and received a positive LinkedIn recommendation from my manager as a result. If I did it again, I would gather feedback from each cohort, to see which sessions worked best for them.

— Noah

Design & Storytelling · Mentor & Facilitator Student to Mentor (Former) Alumni Board Member

§ 06

Plates

One more session, and my mentor profile.

Noah presenting the slide “Essential Questions help to clarify, narrow and contextualise your Big Idea.” to a cohort.

Running Essential Questions, helping each team to clarify, narrow and contextualise their Big Idea.

Mentor Profile.

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