CSHARK and SWPS University Launch a Joint Internship Program

The internship program with SWPS University

CSHARK began cooperation with the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (SWPS University), a renowned Polish university based in Wrocław, to help elevate skills of the University’s graphic design students via an internship program and thematic events with experts.

The internship program, which began in February 2020, is dedicated to students of the University’s graphic design faculty, as part of which interns gain hands-on experience in designing applications and software products. Upon successful completion of the program, the best talents may be offered a job at the CSHARK headquarters in Wrocław.

Application design is one of the key elements of software development. SWPS educates excellent graphic designers, which perfectly suits our services in the area of UX/UI design, so we thought it would be a great idea to formalize this cooperation via an internship program. – adds Kamil Kwećka, board member and co-founder at CSHARK.

During the internship program, students are being trained under the supervision of experienced colleagues and learn the perks of a UX/UI designer job. The interns learn how to use their knowledge in practice. They have the opportunity to cooperate with a software development team and learn how to properly prepare a project description for them.

Our former intern, and SWPS University student Joanna Kozołub said:

The internship was focused on creating a new application from scratch. We went through the entire design process that is required in order to release an application to the market. Every intern was designing their own application individually, but we regularly connected as a group with the supervisor to discuss progress and receive feedback.

Joanna proved her dedication and willingness to develop professionally and she joined us as a Junior Product Designer. She said that the educational aspect of the internship was most important for her. She highlighted that:

The manager was oriented at going through the entire application design process in a way that would help us understand the market perspective. We received a lot of tips during the creative process. Everything was oriented on our professional growth.

For SWPS, the program adds value to the learning experience. Interns have 240 hours to learn how to work as part of a team, master their craft, and take part in real-life projects as well as workshops with real clients, which is a great value-added for students considering enrolling at SWPS University.

Internship programs are a very important part of studying. We are glad that one of our partners is CSHARK, which enables our students to experience working with its business clients and real business challenges. This cooperation brings significant value to our students. – says Anna Murzyn-Romańczuk, Marketing and PR specialist at SWPS University.

In addition to designing her own application, Joanna was also involved in the preparation of marketing materials for a campaign and took part in Product Design Workshops with one of CSHARK’s clients. She said:

It was a great experience for me as a student. During the workshops, they were asking me for my opinion, so I felt that it counted. I think many trainees often worry that they will put in a lot of energy and won’t get anything in return, but at CSHARK that wasn’t the case – we received a lot of knowledge and experience.

The internship program at CSHARK is an opportunity to take part in interesting projects and face real problems or limitations that naturally come up when you work as a team or with a client.

There is a shortage of skills in the IT job market. The SWPS Univerity is a verified talent pool, so we had no doubts about starting cooperation. In turn, interns gain practical experience that adds to the theoretical knowledge they gain at university. – explains Kamil Kwećka.

The cooperation between SWPS University and CSHARK goes beyond the internship program and also involves joint online events, oriented at leveraging Product Design expertise and its role in software development.

The series will be led by CSHARK’s Product Design Manager Martyna Mrozek, who is also an SWPS University graduate and lecturer. She will invite different experts from the University to each session. 

The first event, Designing after the end of the world. How did the pandemic affect product design? will take place on October 14 at 6 pm. Martyna will explore the topic with Mariusz Wszołek, Deputy Director of Design Institute at SWPS University.

The live transmission will be available on the Graphic Design Faculty’s YouTube channel. More information will come soon.