What Happens When Industry Meets the Classroom?
Reflections from our partnership with Catalyst Berlin, and why conversations matter just as much as curriculum.
There's something powerful about watching a room full of students realise that the people they've been listening to are just that - people.
Not superheroes. Not impossible success stories. Just creatives who have built careers by asking questions, making mistakes, staying curious and saying yes to opportunities.
That's exactly what happened when The Kusp partnered with Catalyst Berlin to host Storytelling in Advertising. On paper, it was a panel discussion about advertising but in reality, it became something much more valuable: a conversation about creativity, confidence and what it really takes to build a career in the industry. For us, that's always been the point.
On the panel, we had the pleasure of featuring:
Julian Pestal – a creative strategist and founder of Markenkunst, blending bold branding with artistic vision for clients like Uber and Jung von Matt.
Julian Spillner – a Berlin-based director bringing a photographic eye and dry humour to commercials for eBay, Spotify and more.
Tracey Gudwin – a TV director, writer and senior creative producer with 20+ years’ experience across major brand campaigns for Visa, Babbel and KAYAK and German television.
Throughout the evening, our panellists spoke honestly about the role storytelling plays in advertising, but they also shared something equally important: their own journeys. There wasn't a single blueprint for success. Every story was different, every career path unexpected in its own way, and that diversity of experience was perhaps the biggest lesson students could take away.
Our founder, Amos Eretusi, guided the discussion with the kind of curiosity that encouraged everyone to relax. Rather than feeling like a formal panel, it became a conversation - one where students felt comfortable asking thoughtful questions and where the speakers were equally willing to share both the highlights and the challenges of working in the creative industries. We explored award-winning campaigns they had produced, how they landed their first inndustry opportunity? Ways of working and collaborating, and key decisions that has helped to shape their careers to-date.
Those are often the moments that stay with people. Not necessarily the polished advice, but the honest reflections. The reminder that careers rarely move in straight lines.
It's easy to talk about bridging the gap between education and industry. It's much harder to actually create moments where that gap disappears, even if only for an evening; and that's what partnerships like this can do.
Access to honest conversations that help them see where they might fit into an industry that can sometimes feel difficult to enter is where we believe The Kusp adds value.
Whether we're running mentoring programmes, facilitating workshops or bringing together panels like this one, our role is to create opportunities for connection, access and career progression. We want students to leave feeling not only inspired, but informed. To understand that there isn't one route into the creative industries, and that the people working in them were once asking exactly the same questions they are now.
We're excited to continue partnering with universities and creative institutions around the world who share that vision, because the future of the creative industries won't be shaped by organisations working in isolation. It'll be built through partnerships, conversations and a shared commitment to opening doors for the next generation.
Interested in partnering with The Kusp?
We work with universities and educational institutions around the world to deliver industry panels, mentoring programmes, workshops and networking experiences that connect students with leading creative professionals.
If you're looking to bring industry into the classroom - and your students into the industry - we'd love to hear from you.