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My Summer @ Google: Summer Trainee Engineering Program
November 7, 2012
As the last of our EMEA Summer Trainee Engineering Program (STEP) interns finish up for summer 2012, we sat down with two of our London based interns to discuss their time at Google, what their plans are for the future and quizzed them for more insights into STEP for next year’s students! We’re also pleased to announce that applications are available for
STEP 2013
.
Tell us your name, university, major and any other relevant background info.
Elena: My name is Elena, I’m currently going into my second year at
Bucharest University
, studying computer science. The last relevant thing I did prior to STEP was a Girls Programming Camp at college. I first started programming in high school but participated in mathematics competitions before that.
Mariana: My name is Mariana, I’m currently going into my third year at the
Politehnica University
in Bucharest, studying computer science. In high school I was really into mathematics and physics, but now l enjoy informatics, the logic behind it, as well as solving problems.
How did you find out about the STEP Internship?
Elena: Actually this is funny. I accidentally saw a friend like a link to
STEP
applications on a social network and didn’t expect to get a response so quickly after applying!
Mariana: I saw an email from a Google Student Ambassador at Politehnica and applied, as I thought this internship suited me very well.
Why did you apply?
Elena: I already had lots of plans for the summer but I thought it would be interesting to do interviews and have the experience of doing some phone interviews at Google!
Mariana: I thought it would be nice to apply for an internship at Google. The perception is that for standard internships, you need to be in your 4th year or beyond but this internship is targeted at students in the earlier years of their studies. It sounded great so I thought, why not apply?
What did you do during your time at Google?
Elena: I worked on the Mobile team and did lots of coding! I worked on re-writing some code, refactoring as well as implementing a UI!
Mariana: I worked on Geo, mainly on front end work. I also learnt to interact with loads of people in different areas as the project used lots of different technologies.
What was your favourite part?
Elena: Absolutely everything ...well, after finishing reading tutorials! The first two weeks were overwhelming and tough, but after that I found my feet.
Mariana: I loved meeting new people and finding out about their projects. I also enjoyed working on a visual project and to see people excited about some aspects of my work during my final presentation was great!
What did you get out of STEP? What skills did you gain?
Elena: I enjoyed learning from hands on experience rather than only doing coursework. It was great to learn more about Google specific technologies and new concepts like version control. I also got a taste of managing a healthy work-life-balance.
Mariana: I learnt what writing good code is all about. I also learnt how to apply the things that I learnt and discussing different methods with others was also fun.
What are the next steps for you?
Elena: I’m going back to university and would like to do a summer internship every year from now.
Mariana: I’m going back to my 3rd year and looking forward to a graphics course and catching up with friends. I’m also actually looking forward to homework and coding assignments. Hopefully next year I’ll be back at Google!
Do you have any advice for anyone considering applying to the STEP Internship?
Elena: Yes: once you find out what team you will work with, read as much as you can beforehand.
Mariana: Just APPLY. Send your CV - don’t think too much about it and you will be fine :)
Posted by Farrah Djohan, Intern Programs
My Summer @ Google: BOLD Immersion
October 25, 2012
Introduction: We continue the
My Summer @ Google
series with a post from Moses, a sophomore at Dartmouth College. Moses recently attended the
BOLD Immersion Program
for Freshmen.
Most people have heard of Google, but did you know that each summer Google selects rising college sophomores to immerse themselves in the Google way of life for a week? My path to the BOLD Immersion Program for Freshmen was far from conventional. I was told to apply by a senior mentor at school, who made me promise that I would research the company and send in an application. To do my research, I actually had to “Google” Google! Soon thereafter, I decided to apply, but with Google being so popular and me having little-to-no experience with computer science, I did not expect my interest to be reciprocated.
To my surprise, I was accepted into the program! Immediately I became nervous. What did I expect from a week at the center of the Internet world? How could I prepare for something like this? What would the other participants be like? I began to try and guess answers to my own questions. I decided I would have to wear a suit and tie, pretend to be well versed on all things computer science, be able to analyze Google stock trends, and memorize the biographies of Larry and Sergey.
Of course, all of my assumptions were false. BOLD Immersion was about exposing students to a talented and diverse community, learning about the technology industry from a non-technical point of view, and growing my skills. There was also a case study, and after being briefed each group set out to invent a marketing campaign. A few days later, we presented our work to a panel of judges.
What most impressed me at Google was the quality of the people. It took a short conversation with any one of my fellow participants to realize that he or she was talented and intelligent. And the Google employees were a more experienced version of our group – incredibly genuine, outlandishly charismatic, and encouragingly creative. Though I have always heard people say it’s important to love what you do, seldom have I seen this in action. The people I met at Google truly love their jobs; Google fosters a certain atmosphere that transforms a “job” into a “calling,” and your “coworkers” into “friends.”
I learned so much about who I am. I learned how to communicate effectively and navigate through a cloud of unknowns to answer a question or solve a problem. I learned how to accept and decline propositions, all the while maintaining respect and order. Most importantly, I learned how to be an effective member of any organization: be that my athletic team, the clubs that I am a part of at school, or the workforce of which I will soon be a full time member.
Google is a unique company because I see it not as a technology company, but as a people company that just happens to focus on technology. I left Google after a week with more knowledge than I could learn at many summer programs. The fellow Immersion participants became friends who I now contact whenever I am close to their schools or hometowns. Though there was a case study competition, I am more than content with the knowledge, the bonds, and the experience and I consider myself and every group winners.
I hope future college freshmen apply for this program. Participants will learn so much about Google and themselves, and will meet an amazing group of people. My one piece of advice: please be yourself because it's your uniqueness that can help transform you into a potential Googler!
Interested in BOLD Immersion? Applications will be available
here
in March 2013.
Posted by Moses Adubi, BOLD Immersion Participant
My Summer @ Google: Encouraging diversity and inclusion in the workplace
October 19, 2012
Time flies! It seems like just yesterday I attended the Intern Orientation on the first day of my internship, but now I feel as if I have been on my team for years. As my last day is approaching, I am starting to feel a pang of sadness to leave my team, but I am confident and grateful that I have gained in-depth knowledge and experience in just nine weeks of my internship. I also feel lucky to have my mentor who has been very supportive and I worked very closely with another intern and her mentor. It has been a great learning experience to work together as a team.
As an intern, I joined the Talent and Outreach Programs team that designs and delivers initiatives to attract a talented and diverse workforce and raise awareness of the Google employment brand. My intern project was to do research on and design initiatives for students with disabilities. I started by identifying and building relationships with organizations that support students with disabilities. Through these relationships, I then mapped out the talent market by school and major. Based on this research, I was able to plan and execute our first-ever ‘Google Diversity Workshop’ inviting 20+ students with disabilities to the Tokyo office! The students came from all over Japan.
As one of the main organizers of the event, I moderated the panel discussion where we featured two of our disabled Googlers. I also facilitated the group discussions where the participants built on their discussion and presentation skills. It was exciting to see the students enjoy and tackle the project, however, the highlight for me was the dedication of the Googlers who volunteered. This event was a success thanks to the 13 Googlers who came from various functions including HR, Sales, and Engineering. They trusted me and gave me helpful advice throughout the event. I saw firsthand how supportive and encouraging Googlers are.
During the last week of my internship, I gave a tech talk about my intern project. It was a great way for me to share what I had worked on over the summer. I hope Google will continue to hold events for students with disabilities, not only in Japan, but in other countries to raise awareness of the diverse Google culture. Also we would provide opportunities like group work and mingling with other disabled students and Googlers.
My experience at Google has made a big impact on me and has equipped me with the knowledge and skills to become a Googler. Now I am sad to leave, but I am ready for the next stage in my career and make a big impact to the world!
Posted by Ryosuke Nakajima, Intern, Google Japan
My Summer @ Google: AdCamp
October 16, 2012
Introduction: We continue the
My Summer @ Google
series with a post from Nels, a junior at the University of Minnesota studying operations management, and information systems. Nels recently attended the first ever
AdCamp
, a four day program for rising juniors interested in advertising and sales.
During the school year I know I am going to have a good morning when I am able to get up and eat a bowl of Cheerios before class. Back in May, there was a Wednesday where I completely forgot my cereal, because I was too excited to even think. That morning I had gotten my acceptance email to be a part of Google’s AdCamp program. I may not have gotten my daily dose of oats, but that was the last thing on my mind.
A month prior to that Wednesday, a mentor of mine told me that I should apply for the AdCamp program. I had done a handful of work with Google products in the past, learned to love them, and wanted to get a chance to work with the company behind the magic. I was very quiet about applying, and didn’t mention it to anyone. I remember finally breaking the news to my parents the day I was accepted. I told them two things: “Mom, Dad, I am going to New York for a Google summer program, and I need to go fancy shirt shopping.”
AdCamp is a four-day program for rising juniors at Google’s New York office. Campers are able to learn from seasoned Googlers about the company’s products, and also about the company’s strategies for servicing their clients.
The camp was a healthy balance between work and play. The work happened during the day. Daily sessions were set up as fast paced discussions. We worked closely in teams, and had the opportunity to test our speaking skills in front of the large group. Between our sessions, we were able to explore the office and learn about the hidden perks of being at Google; it only took five minutes of wandering to realize how special Google is.
On the last day of AdCamp we had a case competition. The Googlers presented us with a live case that Google employees were working through. We used all of the tools that we learned at camp, and in under three hours, we created a presentation for a panel of judges. The competition was fierce but in the end our team put together a great presentation and had a lot of fun.
When we weren’t being students, we were tourists. Each night our program leaders would take us out to explore the city. We went on a double-decker bus tour through Times Square & Brooklyn, walked along The Highline park in the Meatpacking District, and went out for an authentic New York style Italian meal (which took a few weeks to fully digest!).
But my favorite part of the trip had to be the people that I met. All of the campers were from different places, and had different stories to tell. By the end of the trip we became a very tight-knit group. If I ever make my way out to either coast, I have a long list of new friends to visit.
The Googlers were also special. The little things were what stood out to me. Every employee was willing to help when I needed it, and they all walked around with a big smile. Our program leaders were amazing. I never felt like I had to impress them. They treated me like a friend instead of a prospect. I am not very emotional, but I gave out quite a few hugs at the end of the trip.
I left AdCamp with confidence that I could do anything. In four days I built up a wealth of knowledge that I am still tapping into today. AdCamp taught me the skills that I need to thrive in any fast paced environment. Lastly, I learned with a bit of teamwork and a bit of fun - anything can happen.
Interested in AdCamp? Applications will be available
here
in Spring 2013.
Posted by Nels Pederson, AdCamp Participant
My Summer @ Google: Focusing on AdSense users and customers
October 11, 2012
Let’s say you tend to chew this particular type of gum that you just can’t seem to resist. But have you ever thought about why this gum attracts so many consumers in the first place? What if you could figure out what makes this particular gum so popular that it makes people want to purchase it continuously and associate this brand of gum with happiness?
Implementing a new game-changing system to Google Japan Online Partnerships Group (OPG) is a project that was most definitely challenging but was a project I was able to accomplish in two months. By asking "would you recommend this product to a friend?”, we learn more about how AdSense is performing through our customers’ eyes.
As a member of the scalable team, my ultimate goal was to find a way to increase customer loyalty of the millions of Google AdSense users through online communication channels such as:
Google+
,
newsletters
,
blogs
, seminars, and webinars. I worked on a project designed to improve customer loyalty and while we may not find an immediate answer today or tomorrow, planning for the future and for the better of the company could only be experienced thanks to Google.
The excitement of being able to think and provide my own insight that could possibly be used in a global scale is definitely the experience of a lifetime. One of the most fun parts of being an intern on the Online Partnerships Group is the collaborative teamwork I was able to experience, the challenge my project provided me, and most importantly the friendliness of all Googlers. What I will never forget about this internship is the culture Google immersed me with. Despite the global impact Google has already created for the millions of people, its challenge and continuous motivation never ceases to excite me. From my mentors, managers, seminars, hangouts, to cafeterias- to be able to view and experience this strong network in such a short amount of time is just priceless.
One important thing that I observed while at Google that I will take with me back to school is that there's always room for improvement. I've seen teams here working at such a fast pace, and just when you think something is perfect, there is always room to make it better. For that, I must say, no wonder why there's always a new flavor of gum to chew!
Posted by Reina Okuda, Intern, Google Japan
My Summer @ Google: A lesson in personal branding at BOLD Symposium
October 5, 2012
Introduction: Over the summer we host a variety of
programs
and internships for
technical
and
non-technical
students. We’re relaunching the
My Summer @ Google
series to give you an inside look at each of these programs, hearing from the students themselves who participated. Today Bryan Dominguez, a current freshman at Cornell University, recaps Google’s
BOLD Symposium for High School
. BOLD Symposium is an enrichment program designed to provide high school seniors with valuable business skills before starting college.
When I found out that I was nominated to participate in Google’s BOLD Symposium, I was ecstatic. I had been interested in Google since visiting the company’s offices in Cambridge, MA with the LEAD Summer Business Institute at Tuck, so you can imagine how excited I was to travel to the office in New York City for BOLD Symposium.
I was the first student to arrive at Google on the morning of BOLD Symposium and I was immediately introduced to
Demian Caponi
, a current employee on the University Programs team and a Cornell alum. It was nice to see that although the Google staff and student body was so diverse, I could still find similarities that brought us together. During the program we did a resume workshop and were given the opportunity to network with Google employees. The excitement that these employees brought to the table truly set the atmosphere for the rest of the day. The wealth of knowledge that they shared with us was beyond anything I could ever illustrate in this blog.
It was all such an enriching experience that to choose one single aspect that I liked the most would belittle the greatness of everything I learned. However, the part that I remember the most would be the personal branding overview and workshop. I learned that personal branding is a part of who you are, like an invisible tag, listing everything you are made of. For me it has been a long time since someone had told me it's important to illustrate yourself in the eyes of others, the way you want to be seen. It is so important to understand, but also easily forgotten. The beauty is that the key to controlling it all comes with knowledge. My personal brand plays a key role in helping me shape the I, who hopes to one day positively impact the world. As I look on to my future at Cornell, I hope to use this new gained knowledge not only in my classroom, but in the new community I hope to surround myself with. It is my duty to act like a lighthouse to my community of equal minded minorities who seek growth, providing them with my little light of knowledge that may one day prove to be bigger than we all might have expected.
My experience at Google’s BOLD Symposium is one that I will never forget. The memory made and knowledge gained at the Symposium is truly one that has opened my eyes to a world that celebrates differences. The beauty of BOLD Symposium is that it places you outside your comfort zone in an environment where knowledge is waiting to be picked up in every corner. Symposium equips you with the tools to be a great leader as you head back to your communities or off to college. As I begin my freshman year at Cornell, I feel confident because I know I have created a personal brand that is true to who I am and I’m ready to put it to the test!
I am honored that the LEAD Program recognized my personal brand and give thanks to them nominating me to participate in the 2012 BOLD Symposium for High School, and thus allowing me to see Google as more than just a search engine but an ever revolutionizing company with endless possibilities to expand.
Interested in BOLD Symposium? Learn more at
www.google.com/students/bold
.
Posted by Bryan Dominguez, BOLD Symposium participant
My Summer @ Google: Inspiring (and being inspired by) more women in technology
October 3, 2012
My most memorable moment of my summer was my first day at Google Japan during Noogler (new Googler) Orientation. There were a dozen people starting that day, and 8 of us were women! I was even more excited to find out that they were still in college, starting an engineering internship through the Google
BOLD Internship
program.
In 2010, I became actively involved with the
Technovation Challenge
, a mobile app development competition for high school girls. Technovation Challenge is a mentoring program and an opportunity for females to explore the world of engineering at a very young age by use of the Android App Inventor.
The biggest hurdle of the program was attracting mentors that were invaluable to the success of the program to connect with the high school girls. When I called out to females in technology, Women@Google had an overwhelming support for the program, bringing over a dozen mentors!
My summer at Google was filled with events that brought women together, from formal dinners to a casual breaks over ice cream, to share their experiences, and help one another. To have the opportunity to work at Google this summer, meant working at a company that supported in the cause to increase mentorship for those that were underrepresented in tech. I feel very fortunate to be able to spend my summer in an organization that celebrates diversity and inclusion and constantly encourages Googlers to support one another.
Over the last two months, I have had the opportunity to meet many successful female Googlers in all levels of the company. Each and every one of them, offered me career advice, and periodically checked in to see how my internship was going. As a Business Marketing Intern for the
APAC Mobile Ads
team, I constantly felt a strong support network, and was provided with many opportunities to challenge myself. In just eight weeks, I was given the support and resources to build two presentation narratives, publish an info-sheet, and create an internal webpage.
I have had an unforgettable summer experience, and want to thank all the Googlers, both men and women, that have mentored me during my internship. Thank you to my manager Taka-san, Mobile Ads Team, APAC Marketing, and the Boston Forum Team - Yayoi-san, Yuko-san, Jay-san and Brad-san. I have been fortunate to have amazing mentors in my life, and want to return the same to others. I hope that one day every female in every occupation will have a strong mentor that can support them to achieve anything that they desire and work towards.
My summer is over at Google, but my hope to increase mentorship for those that are underserved has just begun.
Posted by Miho Goto, Intern, Google Japan
My Summer @ Google: Building more than just apps at Android Camp
September 17, 2012
Introduction: Over the summer we host a variety of
programs
and internships for
technical
and
non-technical
students. We’re relaunching the
My Summer @ Google
series to give you an inside look at each of these programs, hearing from the students themselves who participated. Today John Yang-Sammataro, a current computer science student at Stanford University, recaps Google’s
Android Camp
. Android Camp is a week long interactive program where students work in teams to build Android applications.
When I heard that I had the unique opportunity to have hands on training with the team that builds Android, I jumped at the chance. Nearly everyday for the past two years, I have walked past Larry Page and Sergey Brin's original Google server, which sits in the Huang Engineering Building at Stanford. However, this summer was the first time I visited the Google headquarters that the two famous internet entrepreneurs founded after their time at Stanford. I began the camp aiming to learn as much as I could about Google’s latest cutting edge mobile technology, but came away with a richer experience than I ever expected.
Each day we familiarized ourselves with the Android ecosystem through a whirlwind of workshops and activities. These were paired with daily team breakout sessions during which we applied our new skills to build apps. The Android team is really passionate about what they do. It is quite something else to ask a question about a software platform you are working on and receive a response from someone who can speak in the first person about why they developed the software that way! At the end of the week we presented our apps to a panel of Google engineers for critiques and feedback. I have never learned so much in my life within seven days!
With so much software development, it is hard to believe that we had time to do all the additional activities that the Android Camp team put together. Each day included a unique activity outside of the classroom lessons. We cooked pizzas, sampled delicious food at a different Google cafeteria every night, and even toured San Francisco finishing the evening at a Giants baseball game. Touring Google’s campus, we marveled at beach volleyball during break hours, the company’s fleet of shuttles and bikes, and even a free medical clinic. The genuinely energetic and motivated environment at Google's HQ reminded me that Google company culture is as much a colossal achievement in human resources as its products are technical marvel.
What impressed me most was that the Googlers and fellow campers I met were some of the most interesting and genuine people I have befriended. Each and every person had their own unique story and passion behind what they did. Even after twelve hours of coding and activities each day we would come back to our hotel and delve into conversation, not just about computer science but everything from politics to physics to startups to hometowns and underwater sea cables.
After a week of Android Camp I now have a technical familiarity and high level understanding of not only the Android ecosystem, but the wide array of open source software and public Google APIs that might take me months to learn otherwise. Now I am planning to build the main Android app for the company I am interning with this fall and our Android Camp team, Object Oriented, is working to launch our app on Google Play in a couple months. However, what I will keep for years to come are the memories of late night conversations woven about life,
Dalvik
, and underwater sea cables and the friendships with the people who started them.
Thank you to the Android Camp team and my fellow campers. You made Android camp an unforgettable experience.
Interested in Android Camp? Check back
here
in early 2013 for next summer’s application.
Posted by John Yang-Sammataro, Android Camper
Apply today for Google's Engineering Practicum Internship Program
September 14, 2012
Introduction: Over the summer we host a variety of
programs
and internships for
technical
and
non-technical
students. We’re relaunching the
My Summer @ Google
series to give you an inside look at each of these programs, hearing from the students themselves who participated. Today Jeanette Miranda, a current computer engineering student at Brown University, recaps Google’s
Engineering Practicum
internship program. Engineering Practicum is a summer internship for rising juniors that provides skills-based training, mentoring and professional development. Applications for Engineering Practicum are available
here
and the deadline to apply is October 15, 2012.
Being a technical intern at Google is truly a unique experience. For the summer, you are an engineer at Google. You are responsible for your project, and expected to complete it at a caliber appropriate for Google. You are going to learn, learn, and just when you thought you had begun to master something -- learn some more. It is an incredible, challenging, and engaging experience.
For me, being in Engineering Practicum was just as challenging, and even more incredible and engaging. I had first heard about Engineering Practicum through an email my school’s computer science department sent out with opportunities in industry. On a whim, I decided to apply - why not? It was early in the year and it was a chance to work at Google. Little did I know what an amazing program I had stumbled upon.
The Engineering Practicum internship is a 12-week program specifically designed to support the development of young computer scientists and to encourage diversity within the field of computer science. You are still a technical intern - but with the added support of being in a pod of two to three interns, a great series of lectures to address the difference between coding for a university class and for production, and social events for a close-knit, smaller group of interns who are also rising juniors.
This past summer, Engineering Practicum brought nearly 100 rising juniors to four different offices around the country for a summer of coding, learning and fun. The projects covered topics from Google+ to Maps to backend tools for developers and more. My project for the summer was developing and implementing an algorithm to turn video footage into motion thumbnails. Imagine taking a video of a pitcher throwing a baseball, and creating a single image with the pitcher captured at multiple stages of throwing the baseball. Over the course of the summer I worked on developing this algorithm, and testing it on a variety of different footage. In the last week, I wrapped up the project by giving a presentation to my team.
But for me, Engineering Practicum was about more than just my project - it was about having the experience of Google's engineers accessible to you as an undergraduate who had only completed two years of college-level computer science. This was shown in everything from the pod structure with two hosts for the summer, to having a mentor, to weekly lectures by engineers on everything from designing services meant to run around the globe, to testing production code. It was also a great opportunity to meet students from universities all around the country who not only pursue the same course of study as you, but also share your interests.
Together, all of this created an amazing summer experience. From getting to know my hosts, podmate and mentor, to submitting code to the code base, to figuring out how to tackle challenging technical problems on my own, to spending time with other interns - I felt I was exposed to the different sides of working at Google. I'm returning to school a more experienced programmer and a more independent learner, eager to study the many new areas within computer science and engineering that I have discovered.
Interested in Engineering Practicum?
Apply today!
Applications are due by October 15, 2012.
Posted by Jeanette Miranda, Engineering Practicum intern
My Summer @ Google: Freshmen Engineering Practicum
September 10, 2012
Introduction: Over the summer we host a variety of programs and internships for
technical
and
non-technical
students. We’re relaunching the
My Summer @ Google
series to give you an inside look at each of these programs, hearing from the students themselves who participated. Today Dhruv Maheshwari, a rising sophomore studying computer science and business at the University of Pennsylvania, recaps Google’s
Freshmen Engineering Practicum
internship program. Freshmen Engineering Practicum is summer internship for rising sophomores that provides skills-based training, mentoring and professional development.
Self-driving cars. Bright yellow bikes. Organic pomegranate yogurt. Floor-to-ceiling whiteboards covered in complicated algorithms and/or memes. Happy people. These are a few of the things I saw everyday at Google’s Mountain View campus. As an intern, I was immersed in a community in which each member was eager to share their passion about his or her work and company. For ten weeks, I was able to take part in activities that are all common at Google- brainstorming cutting-edge technologies, discussing industry trends, and philosophizing about various parts of life. Being part of the Freshmen Engineering Practicum program at Google allowed me to experience the most action-packed, productive, enlightening ten weeks of my life.
The Freshmen Engineering Practicum program (or FEP) is an internship for rising sophomores eager to learn about the Google work environment. When I first applied to the program online, I was simply looking for a way to get better at coding; little did I know, what came in the package was an experience of a lifetime. Apart from working on a real software engineering project, I attended weekly classes on various professional topics and and met with a mentor who helped me navigate my way through Google and gave me insightful advice for college. The best part was getting to hang out with what became my FEP family - the other interns, who were some the most quirky, driven, enthusiastic people I’ve ever met. The majority of the freshmen lived together in corporate housing, so each day we would ride the shuttle to work, split up into pods of three or four to our various teams - Ads, Google Earth, Mobile, etc. - and then meet up back in the apartment after work. Having such a diverse group of interns provided for an awesome learning experience; my roommate was an international student from Hong Kong who was happy to share his extensive knowledge of web design with me. We also had the opportunity to march with the Google float in the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade, dance on a cruise ship in the middle of the San Francisco Bay, and attend the world premiere of the Pixar in Symphony concert!
In addition to all the adventure, the actual coding projects gave us valuable insight into the world of software engineering. Each pod was assigned to a specific team at Google, and had two to three hosts who would guide us through our projects. We started the internship working through Google’s codelabs - tutorials that taught us about many technologies used at Google. After a couple weeks of that, we began our projects working solo or in groups of two or three. As a member of the Dynamic Display Ads team, I worked with a fellow intern to build an external API, which would allow advertising agencies to customize their dynamic ads programmatically (rather than through the existing user interface online). I began the internship with only two semesters worth of programming experience, but by the end, I had a sense of how Google’s entire codebase is managed, how to implement multiple servers in Java, and how to collaborate on a coding project with many moving parts. I was incredibly grateful to have a host such as ours, who was very open to asking us questions and teaching us much more than what was explicitly required for the project. After successfully completing the project, I gained much more confidence in my programming ability, and I’m excited to apply what I learned for my own projects in the years to come.
What impressed me most about this internship was being able to see the unique culture at Google. Despite their brilliance, it seems like each Googler is looking to learn from the other; no one is the “smartest” here. Even as an intern with many, many naive questions, I was treated as someone getting up to speed, rather than as an intern who has to prove himself. This environment only encouraged me to get passed the hurdles of being a Noogler and began contributing as soon as possible. Throughout the entire internship, I was so excited to come to work; I know it will be hard to recreate this experience again!
Interested in Freshmen Engineering Practicum? Apply
here
beginning January 8, 2013 and ending February 1, 2013
Posted by Dhruv Maheshwari, Freshmen Engineering Practicum Intern
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