This is a hands-on, no-fluff curriculum built for school leavers and career switchers in Sri Lanka. The goal is to go from zero to designing an AI-powered financial wallet that connects to banks and promotes financial discipline. We teach by doing — with a mix of Figma, real conversations, group critiques, and AI tools that make you faster, not slower.

Week 1: UX/UI Basics & Design Thinking

We start at the root — What even is UX? UI? Product design? What does a designer actually do?

Students explore Design Thinking, not as a buzzword, but as a mindset. We walk through each stage using local banking examples. The session wraps with a reflection on a recent financial decision they made and how UX might’ve shaped it.

What you’ll do:

• Understand the difference between UX, UI, and Product Design.
• Explore Design Thinking: Empathize → Define → Ideate → Prototype → Test.
• Recreate a user journey based on your own banking experience.

Tools: FigJam, Notion

Soft Skills: Empathy, critical thinking, curiosity

Week 2: Figma Basics & Ethical Design

The screen lights up — welcome to Figma. Students get their hands dirty replicating real mobile UIs. We pause mid-session to explore what bad design can do, especially when you're working in fintech. Predatory lending, dark patterns, exclusion — these are real. We talk about designing responsibly.

What you’ll do:

• Set up your first Figma file.
• Recreate a popular mobile screen.
• Discuss ethical and unethical design patterns in fintech.

Tools: Figma, Stark plugin