Genesis is committed to advancing product IT by influencing the level of education in the industry. In order to achieve this, the company is working on a number of educational projects. These are specialized schools, thematic weeks, and internal courses. They are dedicated to all fields that are relevant for working on a product, from development to design. Education is free. Anyone can participate, but first, they have to go through a selection process.
In order to work with changes in IT education more thoroughly, Genesis launched partnership programs with Ukrainian higher education institutions including Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, and Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
> Кейси
Professional schools
These are courses authored by Genesis experts. The company's educational branch started with Genesis IT School five years ago and has since grown to eight such thematic schools. We will tell you more about each of them later.
Training is free, but it is preceded by a selection in three stages. First, you need to solve an online test, then complete a practical case (formed according to the subject of the school), and finally, go through a motivational interview. About 30 people usually reach the finals.
Founders and CEOs of Genesis startups, as well as companies that were born in our ecosystem, do the teaching. Classes are held twice a week in the evening, so students can combine their main studies or work with the program. It is also worth setting aside time for homework: One assignment takes about one weekend.
In addition to theoretical lectures, students analyze practical cases and complete their studies with a final project: the creation of their own product based on the acquired knowledge. Graduates who pass the module exams and defend the final project receive certificates. The best students can be hired at Genesis. Other benefits include networking and incentive gifts.
Genesis IT School
This is the first and flagship course from Genesis experts; it reveals the peculiarities of the work of a global IT company and covers all areas that are not related to writing code. In particular, it covers R&D and product launch, marketing, market analysis, monetization, and venture investments.
Over the past five years, the school has graduated 200 professionals in the field of product IT. At the same time, the program is regularly improved as we add new modules that are necessary for the successful development of the final project.
Recruitment to the school takes place twice a year. Studies can be combined with higher education or work. During the pandemic, the entire educational process has taken place online. The course lasts 10 weeks.
Genesis QA School
This is a specialized technical school. It was launched to a) prepare testers for work in product IT and b) debunk the myth that testing is an easy way to enter the field.
The course covers the fundamentals of software development, web, API, and mobile application testing, working with databases, and test automation. The program is divided into two parts: manual testing and automation. The training ends with a final project. There is also intermediate testing between modules.
The course is suitable for all those who are establishing themselves in IT, including students of technical specialties and those who want to change their profession. After all, the knowledge gained during the course allows graduates to get a job as a trainee tester.
The course is held once a year, the first set having been released in the spring of 2020. Before classes, students receive materials for theoretical preparation. Classes last 12 weeks.
Genesis Media School
This is an author's course on the work of media. Genesis experts share how to create, develop, and monetize content in the US and European markets. The program consists of three blocks: general knowledge of the field, text creation, and video content.
The first block includes lectures on the media market in the entertainment industry and creative team management. In the second part, students learn about the creation and distribution of texts, SEO-optimization of the site, and monetization of the media product. In the third, lecturers focus on YouTube and Facebook as platforms for promoting and monetizing videos.
Both students and professionals of various focuses in the field of communications, with a desire to work in media products, can join the school. The duration of the course is 10 weeks.
Genesis Recruiting School
Another project is an IT recruiting school. The experts who assemble the teams for the R&D direction of Genesis share their experience and knowledge. The school's program provides a quality foundation that helps students start a career as a recruiter, particularly at Genesis.
Topics include labor market analysis, successful job descriptions, candidate search, and conducting various types of interviews. At the same time, the emphasis of the school is on the role of a recruiter in product IT. The course consists of lectures and practical parts and lasts seven weeks.
Genesis Analytics School
The course covers different types of analytics in product IT. Students of technical and economic majors, middle-level employees, as well as professionals switching to a new position, can join.
Course topics are divided into several modules. First, students learn about the profession in general: who an analyst is, what they do every day, and what hard and soft skills they need for work. Then we move from general topics to more specific ones such as metrics, A/B testing, marketing analytics, and more. The theoretical part is finalized with lectures on career building and data-based business management. The course lasts 10 weeks.
Also, those who want to develop their career in analytics can look through the Genesis Analytics Guide, a selection of useful materials outlining the main competencies that an analyst in a product IT company should possess.
Genesis Product School
The course is dedicated to the launch and development of a new IT product. Unlike the IT school, where lecturers focus on various aspects of business operations, the product school reveals all stages of "production" of the actual product. Topics include a market assessment, MVP creation, product architecture, team management, marketing, and investment.
Both students and professionals already working as product managers can join. It's a good way to get an idea of the day-to-day work in the position. For others, it is an opportunity to deepen expertise in product development and management.
This is the longest Genesis program with classes being held for 13 weeks.
Genesis Front-end School
This course covers frontend architecture and principles of working with the interface. Over three months, school participants learn what it's like to be a developer in a product team and work at the intersection of design, product, and technology.
The instructors do not teach coding, so those looking to learn programming from scratch are unlikely to get the most out of the school. Therefore, while selecting participants, the organizers pay attention to whether a person knows basic front-end development technologies, such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and the popular React or Vue frameworks.
The school covers such topics as the principles of building an application architecture, the peculiarities of server rendering, the CI/CD approach, and the peculiarities of desktop and mobile development. In this way, junior specialists will be able to master new topics, and middle-level students will be able to fill gaps in knowledge and systematize them. In total, the course lasts 10 weeks.
Genesis Startup Academy
This September, Genesis launched a startup academy together with Meta (formerly Facebook). This is a free online program for entrepreneurs from Central and Eastern Europe. Founders and top managers developing technology startups can apply.
The course covers the various stages of launching and scaling a technology startup: business model, strategy, management, analytics, marketing, sales, finance, investment, and team management. Experts from Genesis, Meta, Horizon Capital, and Flyer One Ventures investment funds offer their expertise.
The training is free and is preceded by a two-stage selection: an online test and an interview with the organizers. In the end, the participants present their diploma projects and receive Meta Blueprint certification (formerly known as Facebook Blueprint). The course consists of 35–40 hours of lectures and discussions and lasts 2 months.
Cooperation with universities
In 2021, Genesis added joint programs with top universities of Ukraine to its educational projects. In particular, we launched courses on iOS mobile development and software testing with the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. Genesis top managers and specialists not only share practical knowledge but also give students an opportunity to work on real business tasks.
Genesis also cooperates with the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. Web Tech Lead Oleksandr Mykhailiuta teaches a special course on high-load systems using the Golang programming language as an example at universities. At the same time, at the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE), students take a course in business analytics.
Moreover, the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv offers a course in product analytics, as well as a school of entrepreneurship, at the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics. The work on several projects is still ongoing, with the launch planned for the first half of 2022.
Thematic weeks
Genesis also dedicates certain weeks to specific areas in product IT. In particular, we cover marketing, design, analytics, game development, frontend, and recruiting.
The format includes five days of lectures from the company's experts, including the CEO, team leaders, and juniors, all of whom talk about their daily tasks. Such intensive training is perfect for those who want to get to know a specific field and the professions in it.
Some of the lectures are intended for experienced specialists who can improve their skills and learn from the experience of Genesis experts.
Hackathons and jams
Thematic weeks often end with exams or competitions. To join the competition, it is not necessary (but recommended) to listen to all the lectures of the week. To participate in a jam or hackathon, you need to fill out a separate application.
The hackathon format involves competition between development teams, but at Genesis, it is also organized for non-technical professionals, including, for example, designers and recruiters. During one design hackathon, participants competed for first place in developing a concept for a digital product. During one of our recruiting hackathons, participants had to close an opening in one day.
During game jams, enthusiasts and game development professionals have to create their own games. Mid-level and higher specialists are invited to join because of how difficult it is to create a game in 48 hours.
After the competition, students become part of the professional community and receive certificates and prizes. In order to participate in an event, they simply have to register.
Cases
This is a competition in which participants solve real company tasks, with the highest performing receiving job invitations and gifts. Currently, we conduct cases in three areas: marketing, finance, and analytics.
This is how the event looks: Volunteers register to participate in the competition; we send them a task; they are given 7-10 days to complete it; then, our professionals check their work and determine 10 finalists. In the final, the participants present their solutions to the jury. Usually, only experienced specialists reach this stage, but beginners can also challenge themselves.
Internship at Genesis
Genesis provides an opportunity for young specialists to complete a paid internship in the company's projects and get their first work experience under the mentorship of professionals. It is also a chance for those who want to change their specialization.
The Genesis Internship lasts three months. To get into the program, applicants need to take an online test, do a practical task, and go through an interview.
Corporate training
Genesis pays a lot of attention to employee development. There are internal schools that help improve management skills, understanding of business, and soft skills.
Business school — a course on the Genesis product ecosystem, new business branches, management, and marketing. This is a school for those who want to understand how all areas of product IT work, learn to find ideas for startups, test them, analyze markets, and monetize the product. All lectures are given by top managers of Genesis projects who have launched products from scratch and secured investments for them.
School of management — for employees who already hold management positions in the company and who manage teams and conduct interviews. The course covers such topics as planning and setting goals in a team, hiring employees, evaluating their effectiveness, negotiations, and project presentation.
School of soft skills — to improve communication skills, time management, personal effectiveness, teamwork, critical thinking, public speaking, etc.
In addition to schools that last several weeks, a short-term format was created for employees. For example, now new managers can improve their knowledge at Leadership Intensive Training. Participants sit through 17 lectures on topics including leadership principles, hiring, adaptation, employee motivation, and other management practices. In this way, they can quickly master the necessary basic skills and immediately apply the acquired knowledge at work.
Communities
In the Genesis ecosystem, we build professional communities. In them, specialists exchange relevant knowledge and find answers to complex questions, and business develops faster.
There are currently ten such communities, divided into technical and non-technical. The first list includes frontend, backend, QA, DevOps, and game dev communities; the second includes analysts, designers, PR, product, and marketing communities. A few more areas are under development.
Communication can take place in several formats: news in a joint chat, reports at meetings, and discussions. Such meetings inspire participants to test new approaches and tools and drive the growth of the products they are working on.
Other events
In addition to the mentioned projects, we regularly hold a number of other, mostly one-day, events. These are intensive training sessions, lectures, webinars, and workshops.
One of the popular events is CV Gym, a free interview "trainer" and CV review by Genesis experts. Here participants learn to compose an effective CV and proceed through the main stages of hiring. Specialists from various fields can learn how the IT employment process works and overcome their internal barriers before an interview.
