August 2022 Summaries

Google has launched its third Google for Startups Accelerator: Black Founders class, aimed at addressing the underrepresentation of Black founders in the venture capital landscape, where only 1% of funding is allocated to them. From a large pool of applicants, 12 startups have been selected for this initiative, each offering innovative solutions across diverse sectors, including AI-driven platforms for business growth, educational tools, immigration support, payment systems, workforce development, and real-time legal guidance. The chosen startups, such as Beam.city DNA, EdLight, and Mozaic, will participate in a 10-week virtual program featuring mentorship, technical assistance, and a curriculum focused on product design, machine learning, customer acquisition, and leadership development. This program underscores Google's commitment to fostering racial equity within the North American startup ecosystem by providing Black founders with access to Google's resources, technology, and expertise.

Liza Goldberg, a Google Earth Engine Developer Expert (GDE), has been utilizing technology to combat climate change since she was introduced to Google Earth Engine at the age of fourteen during her internship at NASA. With no prior coding experience, she developed expertise in the platform, which allowed her to model global environmental trends and visualize impactful data, aligning with her dedication to using tech for climate change mitigation. Her journey from a novice coder to the youngest female GDE in North America highlights her commitment to inspiring other young students, especially women, to explore technology without barriers. In her GDE role, Liza collaborates with Google India and Indian Institutes of Technology to provide Google Earth Engine training, fostering technical skills among future climate scientists. At NASA, she works on projects like analyzing mangrove ecosystem vulnerability and leading The Atlantis Project, which aims to enhance disaster response capacity in climate-vulnerable communities. As a Stanford University student, Liza combines her studies in Earth Systems and international development policy to develop solutions for climate adaptation, emphasizing the role of satellite analysis in addressing these challenges.

Ceren Tunay, a passionate mobile developer and community builder in Turkey, shares her journey from studying chemical engineering to becoming an influential figure in the tech community through her involvement with Google Developer Groups (GDG). Her experiences with GDG sparked her interest in coding, leading her to become a co-founder and mentor for the Android Developers Group Turkey and a Google Women Techmakers Ambassador. Tunay emphasizes the importance of diversity and community support in tech, highlighting her role in organizing events like Android DevFest and bootcamps, which have inspired individuals to pursue careers in Android development. She believes in fostering a learning environment where developers can connect and grow, underscored by her commitment to creating inclusive and diverse platforms for tech enthusiasts. Tunay continues to explore her career with a focus on community management, planning future initiatives such as bootcamps and webinars to motivate others in the tech field.

Ahsan Aman, a Google Developer Student Clubs (GDSC) Lead at COMSATS Wah University in Islamabad, developed a proof-of-concept Android application called 5Hazar to combat counterfeit currency in Northern Pakistan, particularly in remote areas like Gilgit Baltistan. Motivated by personal experiences with counterfeit notes, Ahsan utilized machine learning and digital image processing with tools such as Google Teachable Machine to create an accessible solution for detecting fake currency. The application allows users to attach a lens to their phone camera to scan and verify the authenticity of banknotes within ten seconds. Through his involvement with GDSC and participation in hackathons, Ahsan has received positive feedback from over 200 users, gained opportunities to collaborate with a startup incubation center, and now leads a team to enhance and expand the app's capabilities. Ahsan's journey illustrates the potential for student programmers to leverage technology to address community challenges and underscores the supportive role of GDSC in empowering young developers globally.

Google for Startups Accelerator launched the Women Founders program to address the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs, who secured only 2% of venture capital funding in recent years despite raising more total funding. The program aims to bridge the gender gap in the North American startup ecosystem by offering mentorship, technical guidance, and community support. Since its inception in 2020, 24 women-led startups have graduated from the program. For the 2022 cohort, 12 startups were selected from hundreds of applications, including companies like Advocatia, Arintra, and Blossom Social. These startups will participate in a 10-week virtual program to access Google's resources, products, and expertise, helping them achieve their growth goals.

Coding Practice with Kick Start is a four-day event designed to enhance participants' coding skills and confidence by offering practice problems that range in difficulty and cover concepts from introductory computer science courses, such as data structures and algorithms. The session is untimed, has no public scoreboard, and allows participants to solve problems at their own pace with the support of Google engineers and starter code. Participants can engage with the problems, ask questions for guidance, and attend a livestream at the end of the session where solutions are discussed. Testimonials from previous participants highlight the session's role in boosting confidence, fostering skill development, and providing an enjoyable experience through challenging and thought-provoking problems. The initiative encourages continued participation in future rounds and emphasizes the fun and educational aspects of coding without competitive pressure.

In a celebration of app and game businesses, the #WeArePlay initiative shares compelling stories of entrepreneurs from around the world, focusing on their innovative contributions. Among them is George from Bristol, UK, a young entrepreneur who developed the app Droplist at 16 to help streetwear enthusiasts find the latest sneaker and fashion releases. The initiative also highlights Anica and Kristijan from Croatia, who created Dub Studio Productions to enhance music experiences, and Robert from Wyoming, who founded Bluebird Languages, offering extensive language learning resources. Additionally, Annabel from Kenya developed Ziada, an app designed to connect people with local service providers, inspired by her own roadside difficulties in Nairobi. These stories underscore the diverse and creative approaches individuals take to address consumer needs through app development.

In the video series, a step-by-step migration from the App Engine Blobstore service to Cloud Storage is demonstrated, focusing on modernizing a Python 2 App Engine application by integrating it with Cloud Storage and other contemporary Google Cloud services. This transition enhances the app's portability, allowing it to update to more recent language versions, shift to different serverless platforms, or move to VM-based services. Key migrations include switching from webapp2 to Flask, from App Engine NDB to Cloud NDB, and from App Engine Blobstore to Cloud Storage. The process involves updating application configurations and utilizing Cloud client libraries, thereby enabling the app to function identically while being supported by non-App Engine legacy services. Although migrating to Cloud Storage is not mandatory, it aligns with recommended practices for leveraging the latest Google Cloud offerings, and users are encouraged to follow the Module 16 codelab for a thorough walkthrough of the migration process.

Google Dev Library Letters' 12th issue, curated by Garima Mehra, showcases a variety of projects utilizing Google technologies, aiming to inspire developers for their future endeavors. Featured projects include Android image shaping using the MDC library, a Kotlin HTTP client inspired by Retrofit, internationalization in Flutter apps, and an explanation of 'final' vs 'const' in Dart. The issue also highlights machine learning projects such as deploying models with TFServing, Docker, and GKE, and automating income taxes with Document AI. It introduces tools like BigQuery ML for serverless deployment and celebrates community contributions with Developer profile badges. The newsletter emphasizes the role of community tutorials in expanding use cases for Angular, backed by a vast developer network, and encourages readers to explore more projects and content on the Dev Library platform.

Shuyu (Asher) Guo shares his journey to becoming one of the few Flutter and Dart Google Developer Experts (GDE) in China, detailing his path from initial exposure to the Android community in 2013 to achieving this milestone in 2022. The GDE program is a global network of technology experts who contribute actively to the developer ecosystem. Guo's journey involved public speaking and networking, which initially led to an invitation to apply in 2020, but he postponed due to language barriers. Encouraged by peers, he eventually pursued the application process in 2021, focusing on improving his English proficiency and highlighting his technical expertise and influence in Flutter and Dart during interviews. The support from the community and Google's team played a significant role in his success, marking the accomplishment as a major milestone in his developer career.

Firebase Stories is a new initiative launched by Firebase to celebrate and highlight developers who use their platform to create apps that foster positive community change. This series will feature global developers and founders who will share their app development experiences and demonstrate the practical application of Firebase tools, offering viewers a chance to engage and learn through interactive demos and guided codelabs. The campaign encourages community interaction by inviting developers to share their experiences using the hashtag #FirebaseStories on social media, with Firebase promoting select stories across its channels. For more information, individuals can visit Firebase's website, follow their Twitter, or subscribe to the YouTube channel.

The Google Play Indie Games Festival celebrates the creativity and passion of small game studios by spotlighting some of the best indie games on its platform, with the 2022 edition hosted in South Korea, Japan, and Europe. The event, highlighted by a virtual finals day on September 3rd, allows attendees to interact with developers, explore the games, and discover the winners. Notable hosts for the finals include Julia Hardy, Inho Jung, and Kajisac. The festival also introduces the Indie Games Accelerator program, offering training and mentorship to enhance the capabilities of these small studios. This initiative underscores Google Play's commitment to supporting developers of all sizes through promotional opportunities and skill development programs tailored to scale their games on the platform.