This summer, a group of students taking part in the Master of Business and Science (MBS) Externship program dove into a real-world design challenge for NetElixir. Based in Princeton, New Jersey, NetElixir is a digital marketing agency that helps mid-sized eCommerce brands succeed online through performance-driven, customer-focused marketing. For their externship, three students conducted a user experience (UX) audit and redesign of the NetElixir e-commerce dashboards.
The MBS Externship program offers students a chance to solve real-world projects for partner organizations under the guidance of professors and external company mentors. Each team works remotely in teams under the guidance of an MBS advisor and an external corporate mentor. This opportunity is a chance for students to connect with MBS faculty, alumni, and outside mentors while gaining valuable work experience. At the end of the semester, each team of externs presents their work during a lightning-fast round of talks and provides their mentor with a full-length hand-off presentation. This summer, the NetElixir externship team had the opportunity to present at the NetElixir office in Princeton.
Meet the Team
The summer 2025 NetElixir externship team consisted of MBS students, all pursuing the MBS User Experience Design concentration:
- Rashi Sawant, Team Lead
- Chia Chia Liao
- Natasha Patel
MBS Externship advisors included:
- Khalis Mahmood, PhD
- Angela Annecchino, MBS alumni
With company mentor:
- Michelle Tomasian, Product Marketing Manager and NetElixir
Turning Insights Into Action
The visit started off with a tour of the NetElixir office and lunch, providing externs with an opportunity to connect with the NetElixir team—some of whom were alumni from Rutgers University and other New Jersey universities.
After, the externs presented their project. Throughout the course of the ten-week summer semester, the team accomplished an impressive amount of work.
The team started by providing background information on their organization, shared a problem statement, and defined their goal: to conduct a UX audit of the current LXRInsights dashboard, compare it to three competitors, and create wireframes with clear, actionable UX improvements backed by audit findings.
The team went on to share a concept map with steps towards their goals, user personas, and wireframes with different design solutions. They concluded by presenting a final proposal for their persona and provided recommendations for the next steps.
The team’s key takeaways included a greater understanding of usability design, key e-commerce UX principles, and effective communication.
Final Reflections
Over the semester-long project, the team of externs gained skills that will benefit them as professionals in any field.
“I absolutely loved the externship program,” said Sawant. “As an MBS student, I found it incredibly valuable in connecting us with companies that offer meaningful and relevant learning opportunities. Gaining real-world experience while still in school can be a challenge, but this program does a fantastic job of bridging that gap! It allowed me to apply what I was learning in the classroom to hands-on projects in the real-world environment. While the timeline can seem intense, it pushes us to grow and make the most of the opportunity. Overall, it’s been an amazing experience, and I highly recommend it to any student looking to gain practical experience and expand their professional skills.”
“Through this project, I discovered how collaborative teamwork can amplify our strengths, while thoughtful communication helps bring our ideas to life,” said Liao. “In addition, our regular mentor meetings are another essential resource that provided strategic guidance and the reassurance that our efforts were always aligned with the project’s vision.”
In addition to providing students with valuable work experience, partner organizations also benefit.
“The value for us is that we were able to see our product from a fresh perspective, using principles that we weren’t using before,” said team mentor Tomasian. “We’re definitely going to implement most of those changes. I got to work with the team every week, and they’re brilliant.”
For more information about the MBS Externship Exchange program, visit our website. You can also read about lightning talks from our extern teams.
