i4X teams tour at JLab Company Building

UC San Diego students in the i4X program got the incredible opportunity to tour the JLab company building, granting them an inside look into the daily operations of the personal technology manufacturing company and bridging the gap between school and work. Led by JLab Marketing Manager Caitlin McLain, the team explored different parts of the company, from marketing to product design, and learned how these individual sectors join together to create and sell low-cost, high quality wireless headphones and earbuds.?

Operating at The Basement through the Office of Innovation and Commercialization, Innovating for X (i4X) connects multidisciplinary student teams with established San Diego companies across different sectors, enabling students to nurture professional and entrepreneurial skills. Company partners challenge teams to bring disruptive solutions to real-world problems. Reinforcing the program’s goal of incubating entrepreneurial talent for a future workforce, JLab invited i4X students to experience industry work in action and make critical professional connections.?

JLab Chief Marketing Officer Terra Teat started the tour with a presentation going over JLab and what the company does, as well as the company’s growth and its plans for the future. Following that, the group went through the building to learn more from the different departments. The marketing team went into background information about when the company was founded, leading the group through the exponential growth throughout the years.?

With this unique opportunity, students could learn about specific details of how the office functioned, and gained a special outlook on the workplace. McLain pointed out that on the tour, students asked engaging questions about operations in the company.

“I really love seeing their faces light up when they are talking to the product team about how our products are designed, where the ideas come from, and everything from inception to finish,” McLain noted. “The students were well prepared and weren't afraid to ask all the nitty gritty questions throughout the tour.”

Throughout the entire tour, students got a handle on the annual goals of the company. This offered students a chance to understand further how they can take their education in the i4X program, and apply it to their future careers.?

A major benefit students took from the experience was the new chance to see a real office in operations. Sixth College Second-Year and JLab i4X team member Katelyn Chan noted the unique open-floor and collaborative work layout, impressed with how synergized it seemed.?

“Each department sat desk to desk with each other, allowing a smooth network and delivery between each department,” stated Chan. “Every department was roughly a few feet apart from each other so it really felt like an innovative startup environment.”

McLain also noted the benefits of showing an active, real workplace to students to help alleviate fears of entering the workspace.

“Just to see that fun that can happen at the workplace, and that there is such a thing as company culture, that is a big benefit compared to being in a classroom,” McLain stated. “It’s not like, okay, you’re here from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and it’s just work, work work. There’s a balance between both, and that was good for students to see.”?

At the end, JLab sent students with their own JLab products, like headphones and earbuds, as a souvenir from the tour, and a commemoration entering a professional San Diego-based workspace.?

We at The Basement wanted to thank JLab for giving this tour to our i4X teams! This offered students in the i4X program a valuable chance to connect academic learning to practical applications. Not just that, but this experience will support them as they enter the workforce in the future.

To learn and attend informative office tours like this, apply for the i4X program next Fall quarter!?

i4X is a program offered by The Basement under the Office of Innovation and Commercialization that brings together multidisciplinary teams of undergraduate and graduate students to collaborate on innovative solutions to existing problems across different sectors in San Diego. The program partners with a wide breadth of San Diego companies, such as the San Diego Zoo and the County of San Diego.

Learn more about i4X.?

Learn more about JLab.

Watch segments from the JLab tour.