Thinking out loud

As I’m working on self-designed IA projects, I was mulling a bit over the overall process. While ultimately it’s better to have these in my portfolio than nothing at all, it bothers me since they’re really no substitute for real life experience. You’re not working with actual clients or with other IAs in person. I feel like I’m just shadow-fencing at the moment – I may be learning how to parry and thrust, but my full potential as a fighter is not being realized since I’m not learning from and testing myself against seasoned fencers.

Thinking at random, I’m not sure if this already exists, but if it does there aren’t any in my area:

Perhaps there could be full-day workshops for those who are new to IA/UX design and want to get started in the field. It would randomly assign 2 or 3 students with an experienced professional to collaborate and produce deliverables on a fictional project. This is something I would gladly pay for. It would give a new person experience with working with others, get a feel for the general process, and have something to put in their portfolio and on their resume. I think this would be much better than just creating wireframes and sitemaps in a vacuum.