A summer experiment: Figma’s first Student Fellowship
When Figma began planning its education outreach earlier this year, the intention was to make on-campus meetups a central part of the strategy. Those plans were built around the assumption that students would be back on campus in the fall. When it became clear that wouldn't be the case for many, the team shifted focus from localized, campus-specific programming to something with broader reach.
Before committing to a new direction, Figma spoke directly with students to understand their concerns for the upcoming school year. Key questions included how schools were planning for the fall, what classrooms would look like, how collaborative environments could be recreated remotely, and how students could work on extracurricular projects together.
Those conversations pointed toward four areas of focus: classroom resources, student stories, the Virtual Campus Slack Community, and hackathons. Rather than unilaterally developing these initiatives, Figma brought students into the process to help build what they would actually find useful and enjoyable. It was an experiment—one that the company now describes as a major success, with the team documenting its goals, output, and lessons learned over a ten-week period.
Defining the vision
Beyond producing content and resources, the program was designed to lay groundwork for future fellowship opportunities and to see how such a program might complement on-campus ambassadorships and the Friends of Figma initiative. The team oriented its goals around creating spaces and resources that were both accessible and aspirational for students, while aiming to extend its impact beyond the student community to Figma itself and the wider design ecosystem.
What the cohort shipped
Despite working on separate workstreams, the team operated as one cohesive unit. Over the summer, the fellows delivered a range of resources and events centered on the four priority areas.
Classroom resources
The group created six new templates for classrooms, whether held online or in person. Favorites included a toolbox for running research projects, a playground file for ramping up on the editor, and a template for issuing classroom assignments. The team also curated a set of community-sourced design resources for teachers and students.
Student stories
In conversations with students, one recurring question surfaced: should I take a gap year? To address it, Figma published the Back To School? Series, where CEO Dylan Field spoke with Marc Andreessen, May-Li Khoe, Karlie Kloss, John Maeda, and Laura Deming about their perspectives on gap years and the value of education. This content was complemented by a guide from a student fellow on pitching and presenting, aimed at helping students communicate their ideas with confidence and strong storytelling.
Virtual Campus Community
Over 1,000 new students joined the Slack-based Virtual Campus community over the summer to connect and learn from one another. The team also hosted Camp Figma, a two-day make-a-thon that brought together hundreds of students across dozens of time zones. Winning projects included FigmAdventure and Slice.
Hackathons
Figma increased its support for virtual hackathons, recognizing them as important spaces for students to collaborate while quarantined. The team assembled a starter kit for organizers and attendees to help them make use of relevant community files. The company welcomes contact from event hosts interested in similar support at [email protected].
Looking ahead
The five fellows—Molly, Abigail, Andrew, Sarah, and Staci—left Figma with a strong impression, with the company crediting their talent, work ethic, and warmth. Figma plans to run the fellowship again next summer. Program details and application information will be announced closer to that time via the Virtual Campus community. The team also remains open to broader ideas for improving the classroom experience, reachable at [email protected].
