The two-week offline internship from Universe Group is designed for those who want to start a career in marketing, work on real tasks, and see how a creative team operates inside a product IT company.
We have already held two internship rounds at Guru Apps* and now we’re opening applications for the third. That is why we collected the stories of four graduates who stayed in the company after the internship and now work on products for global markets in the USA, Canada, Mexico, France, Japan, and beyond.
* Apart from Guru Apps, we also ran an internship at Wisey — a business that creates services for improving personal productivity. Some of its participants also continued their careers in the company. We will share their stories later.
How did the internship work?
During the first week, participants attended lectures by company experts and then completed basic tasks that a creative marketer faces every day. These tasks were divided into blocks based on the lecture topics. At first, participants worked with insights, approaches, and creative elements, and later moved on to full tasks.
The second week was fully practical, with more complex and in-depth assignments. The work covered the entire creative cycle: from an idea to analyzing insights after testing. Participants studied competitors, looked for insights, created ads with cultural nuances in mind, wrote briefs, made revisions, and then analyzed the results of tests. Every day, they sent their tasks to a mentor for feedback.
“We were always in touch with the mentors. They were ready to help and give advice at any time,” says Nazar Biletskyi, Creative Marketing Specialist, participant of the 2nd round.
After the internship, the best students were invited to a bar-raising — the final stage of recruiting. Based on its results, participants received job offers. Starting work after the internship was not stressful, since the office, team, and processes were already familiar:
“You clearly understand what you will do and what is expected of you. This is probably the most comfortable way to start in a new field,” says Liza Onyshchuk, Creative Marketing Specialist, participant of the 1st round.
Participants’ Stories
“The internship is the best way to see whether your values match the company’s values.” — Maryna Menshykova, Creative Marketing Specialist, participant of the 1st round
While studying at university, Maryna worked in marketing, analytics, consulting, a startup, and with small business owners. After completing the Genesis Entrepreneurship School, she decided to focus on marketing. That’s when she saw a vacancy for a creative marketer at Universe Group. She didn’t yet have enough experience, so the recruiter suggested the internship.
“At first I refused, because I was focused on finding a full-time job. Later I decided to give it a try. The role itself was interesting, and the internship format was short but full of practical knowledge. The team and people I met inspired me with their ambitions and openness, so in the end I chose Universe Group” — says Maryna.
Her biggest insight was the importance of analytics:
“In creative marketing, analytics matters even more than creativity, and the real impact on a product goes far beyond user acquisition.”
During the internship, she improved her creativity, idea generation, and the ability to find deeper insights in things that seemed obvious at first glance.
After the internship, Maryna received an offer. In two years, she worked on four products at different stages of development, took on strategic tasks, and grew as a professional. Today she develops the AI product Visify at Guru Apps.
“I liked the combination of creativity and deep involvement in processes.” — Nazar Biletskyi, Creative Marketing Specialist, participant of the 2nd round
After a long sabbatical, Nazar was looking for a job that offered challenges but not routine. The internship attracted him with the opportunity to dive into marketing that truly influences the product and constantly grows toward scale.
He improved both hard and soft skills: he learned a lot of new information, completed practical tasks, and developed communication skills through active interaction with business teams. During the internship, he also shaped his own vision of career growth.
Now Nazar works with R&D products, optimizes processes, and contributes to business growth:
“I’m very proud that I can influence product development and improve the team’s work by optimizing operations.”
“It was one of the few chances to try myself without experience.” — Liza Onyshchuk, Creative Marketing Specialist, participant of the 1st round
Before the internship, Liza had worked as an SMM manager for 2.5 years. She learned about the program from the Genesis & KNU Entrepreneurship School chat.
In two weeks she learned how to quickly generate ideas under deadlines, work with analytics and performance metrics, accept feedback, adjust her work, and think like a performance marketer — not only “beautiful,” but also effective.
“The most interesting task for me was in the first week. It was big and complex. At first, it seemed almost impossible. But I didn’t give up, because I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. The next day, I was told that I had completed it best. That gave me confidence and showed how valuable persistence and problem-solving are,” says Liza.
Today, Liza works on a new R&D product, and her creatives run with budgets of hundreds of thousands of dollars:
“I’m most proud of how quickly I grew — from intern to a full team member, creating creative strategies that shape the product.”
“Every idea deserves a chance.” — Anna Myniu, Creative Marketing Specialist, participant of the 1st round
Before the internship, Anna volunteered as an event manager at Diia.Business and KNU. She applied for a creative marketing vacancy, and after the technical interview, was offered the internship. She agreed, because she felt a values match and genuine interest in the role.
The most exciting part for Anna was finding triggers, creating and describing ideas, and then seeing the production team bring them to life and analyze the results.
“It was surprising to realize that every idea has the right to exist, and even something that looks unusual at first can work,” Anna says.
The internship gave Anna a clear understanding of key tasks and a sense of responsibility. She improved her skills in finding insights, writing briefs, generating ideas, reading Facebook metrics, connecting them with creatives, and building cause-and-effect links.
Now Anna works on the Cleaner Guru app at Guru Apps, and her role has become more strategic and mentoring.
“I’m proud that in October the product I work on became the top app in the USA, surpassing Instagram, TikTok, and Google. It’s an incredible feeling! I’m truly proud to be part of this team and bring ideas to life that help us achieve ambitious goals,” says Anna.
