Career Ceiling

Move from UX to product & AI.

6 weeks, live, in a cohort of max 15. For UX/UI designers 1 to 2 years in who want to design AI-powered products, own outcomes alongside product and engineering, and step into roles at £65k to £105k+.

Designing AI-powered products AI tools in the UX workflow Evaluating AI experiences
Get the brochure ↓

Taught by Stratis Valachis — industry practitioners, not academics.

Duration

6 weeks

Deposit

£99 (refundable)

Full price

£1,500

Cohort 1

5 Sep 2026

Cohort size

Max 15

Schedule

Wed 6-8:30pm UK

With 3 years of UX design experience, the course was a great way of consolidating knowledge and putting theory into practice. Much more industry-oriented than university — we worked on a project from start to finish, building every part to create a strong portfolio piece.

Sabrina Morellato
Sabrina MorellatoUX/UI DesignerSenior UX Designer
Why UX Academy

Outcomes, not just
screens.

15

Max 15 students

Senior critique on your product thinking every week from a named practitioner instructor — not a forum thread.

Live

Live every week

Work through discovery, AI interaction patterns, and trade-offs in real time with your cohort on Zoom.

AI

AI built in

Two dedicated AI modules: designing AI-powered products and evaluating AI experiences. Not a bolt-on — core curriculum.

Real

End-to-end project

Take a real brief from problem to validated, shippable solution and own the outcome story for your portfolio.

Is this right for you?

Built for designers ready to level up.

This course is for you if…
  • You have 1 to 2 years of UX or UI design experience
  • You want to move into product design roles and own outcomes
  • You are working on (or want to work on) products with AI features
  • You can commit 5 to 6 hours per week for 6 weeks
  • You want live feedback from a practitioner, not pre-recorded video
This course is NOT for you if…
  • You are new to design (try the Beginner UX Design course first)
  • You want a self-paced, no-commitment video library
  • You are already working as a senior product designer
  • You want to build AI models rather than design AI products

No design experience yet? Start with Beginner UX Design →

Graduate outcomes

People who made the leap

Not a highlight reel. Real transitions, real timelines.

Samantha Burden

Samantha Burden

Market Research & Product Development Specialist->Product Designer (UX/UI)

Bluepass

The course has been absolutely fantastic. The teachers have been brilliant and very attentive. Definitely recommend for obtaining real life experience and developing a grounding in UX.

4 months to first role
Vitor Kneipp

Vitor Kneipp

Product Manager->UX Strategist

Independent consultant

Before joining the Intermediate course, my user research toolkit was limited. Drafting explicit hypotheses, structuring effective ideation exercises, and synthesising findings are my key takeaways. Access to teachers who are also practitioners gave me the confidence anyone investing in a product design career needs.

22% conversion uplift on first client project
Vita Štefane

Vita Štefane

Marketing Designer->UX Designer

Moving from marketing design to UX felt like a huge leap -- until I realised how much I already understood about what people need. The course gave me the language and the portfolio to prove it.

Chrysanthi Papazoglou

Chrysanthi Papazoglou

Customer Service Coordinator & Trainer->UX Writer
Daisy Hloniphile Msibi

Daisy Hloniphile Msibi

Career changer->UX Designer
Rory Scott

Rory Scott

Career changer->UX Researcher and Designer
Chiara Lunerti

Chiara Lunerti

Career changer->UX Researcher and Designer
Cynthia Thornberry

Cynthia Thornberry

Career changer->Junior UX Researcher
Lesego (Robyn) Koloane

Lesego (Robyn) Koloane

Career changer->User Experience Design Lead
Sabrina Morellato

Sabrina Morellato

UX/UI Designer->Senior UX Designer

With 3 years of UX design experience, the course was a great way of consolidating knowledge and putting theory into practice. Much more industry-oriented than university — we worked on a project from start to finish, building every part to create a strong portfolio piece.

Gaby Rock

Gaby Rock

Events Assistant->Content Designer
3 months to first role
Claire Fontaine

Claire Fontaine

Senior UX Designer->Head of UX
Promoted to Head of UX within 6 months
A typical week

Not a video course. A live experience.

Here's what Week 3 of the course looks like in practice.

Mon

Live session

2 hrs live. Research methods and a real brief to work from.

Tue

Self-study

Reading + watch the session back. Your pace.

Wed

Drop-in

30 min optional — bring work in progress. Get unstuck.

Thu

Project work

Apply the week's methods to your client brief.

Fri

Peer review

Share work with your cohort. Give and get honest feedback.

“The Wednesday drop-ins were honestly the most valuable part. I could share my screen and my instructor would just tell me exactly what was not working.”

Samantha Burden, Product Designer
What you will learn

6 weeks. 6 outcomes.

Tap any week to see what you will cover. Want it as a PDF? Get the brochure.

Week 1From UX to Product Thinking

Outcomes over outputs: frame problems around business value and user impact, not just screens. Understand where product designers operate in the team.

Opportunity framingWorking with PMs
Week 2Product Discovery & AI-Assisted Research

Run structured discovery with opportunity solution trees and assumption mapping. Use AI tools to synthesise research faster without sacrificing rigour.

Opportunity solution treesAI synthesis
Week 3Designing AI-Powered Products

Learn the specific patterns and pitfalls of designing products where AI generates outputs. Handle uncertainty, error states, and user trust.

AI interaction patternsError states
Week 4Metrics, Experimentation & AI Evaluation

Define success metrics for products with AI components and design experiments that test both UX and model behaviour.

North star metricsA/B testing
Week 5End-to-End Product Project

Take a real brief from problem framing to a validated, shippable solution — your portfolio piece for senior product design interviews.

Client projectDiscovery to delivery
Week 6Portfolio & the Product Design Interview

Tell the outcome story product hiring managers want to hear. Nail the whiteboard challenge and the portfolio walkthrough.

Case studiesWhiteboard challenge

Week 5 is your end-to-end product project on a real brief. See real client projects we have delivered →

From the course

What you'll actually build

Every student completes a real client brief. These are portfolio pieces made during the 8-week course.

Booking flow redesign — NHS appointment app

Gaby Rock · Beginner course, 2025

User researchPrototyping

Onboarding UX audit — fintech startup

Vitor Kneipp · Intermediate course, 2024

Heuristic reviewStrategy

Work shown with graduate permission. Real client briefs — not made-up exercises.

Your instructor

Taught by practitioners.

Stratis Valachis

Stratis Valachis

Senior Manager - Product Design & Research (Head of function)

Stratis holds a leadership position in Product Design at Gousto, overseeing design across Menu, Acquisition, and Retention. He plays a pivotal role in shaping design strategy, ensuring quality, and maintaining commercial effectiveness. Prior experience includes Vogue and Aviva.

GoustoVogueAviva
What comes after

Product design pays.

£65k to £85k

Product Designer

Mid-level

£85k to £105k+

Senior Product Designer

Senior

£105k+

Lead Product Designer / Head of Product Design

Lead

Graduate outcomes

People who did it.

Ondrej PolasekSenior Product DesignerKnight Frank
Where our graduates work

Our graduates now work at great companies.

Our graduates have gone on to roles at companies across tech, finance, healthcare, government, and beyond.

AiimiBabylon HealthBarclaysBBH LondonBecaveBluepassCazooCitiCloudCallCodex GlobalEDP RenewablesEmperor+28 more

Price-match guarantee

Find a comparable live UX course for less?
We’ll match it.

From £1,500 for the foundation, or £3,000 for the full stackable programme (including real start-up work experience) — vs £9,000 at General Assembly. Same live instruction and named instructors. See the full UK comparison.

Live UX coursePrice
UX Academyfrom £1,500
BrainStationNot published
UX Design Institute~€2,995
General Assembly£9,000

London courses, verified June 2026. Price-match applies to comparable live, multi-week, mentored UX courses.

Secure your place

£99

Fully refundable deposit — zero risk to hold your place.

Balance of £1,401 payable by invoice before the course starts. Interest-free payment plans available on request. Total course fee: £1,500.

  • 6 weeks of live instruction on Zoom
  • AI modules: design for AI-powered products + evaluation
  • End-to-end product project on a real brief
  • Max 15 students per cohort
  • Direct Slack access to your instructor
  • Certificate in Product Design on graduation
  • Interest-free payment plans available

No-risk guarantee

  • £99 deposit is fully refundable if you cancel before the course starts
  • Price-match guarantee — find it cheaper at a comparable live school and we will match it
  • Questions? Email us and we will respond within one business day

Fully refundable before the course starts. 30% scholarship available.

Sound familiar?

Things our graduates used to think

Before

You need to know how to code or be naturally creative. I'm neither.

Lesego, market researcher

After 8 weeks

UX is about understanding people. My research background was more useful than any design tool.

Before

I'm too old to switch careers. Employers want graduates in their 20s.

Vitor, product manager

After 8 weeks

My years of professional experience made me a better UX practitioner than any graduate I've met.

Before

Online courses are just videos you watch alone and never finish.

Gaby, events assistant

After 8 weeks

My instructor knew my name by week two. The cohort keeps you accountable in a way no video course can.

Common questions

Ask us anything.

Most of our graduates said exactly this before starting. UX is less about visual creativity and more about curiosity and empathy -- understanding why people struggle with things, then figuring out how to fix it. If you have ever rewritten a confusing email, reorganised a messy drawer, or explained something complicated simply, you are already thinking like a UX designer.

Natalia Veretenyk, Lead Instructor

Questions

Before you enrol.

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