Google Student Blog

Google Science Fair 2016: #howcanwe make things better with science?

February 23, 2016

(Cross-posted on the Official Google blog.)

The 2016 Google Science Fair opens for submissions today. Together with LEGO Education, National Geographic, Scientific American and Virgin Galactic, we’re inviting all young explorers and innovators to make something better through science and engineering. To learn more about the competition, how to enter, prize details and more, visit the site, and follow along on Google+ and Twitter.

In this post, 2015 Grand Prize winner, Olivia Hallisey, joins us to reflect back on her own experience with Google Science Fair.

I remember the day I first heard about the Google Science Fair last year. I was sitting in my 10th grade science class when my teacher asked us: “What will you try?” I loved the invitation—and the challenge—that the Google Science Fair offered. It was a chance to use science to do something that could really make a difference in the world.

I had always been curious and interested in science, and knew I wanted to submit a project, but didn’t really know exactly where to begin. I asked my teacher for his advice on selecting a research topic. He encouraged me to choose something that I felt passionate about, or something that outraged me, and told me to look at the world around me for inspiration. So I did. At that time, the Ebola crisis was all over the news. It was a devastating situation and I wanted to help be a part of the solution. I had found my project.

With the outbreak spreading so quickly, I decided that I wanted to find a way to diagnose the virus earlier so that treatment could be delivered as quickly as possible to those who were affected. I read online about silk’s amazing storage and stabilizing properties, and wondered if I could use silk to transport antibodies that could test for the virus. After many failed attempts (and cutting up lots of cocoons) I finally succeeded in creating a temperature-independent, portable, and inexpensive diagnostic test that could detect the Ebola virus in under 30 minutes. I was really excited that my research could help contribute to saving lives, and I was proud to be selected as the Grand Prize winner a few months later.

As the 2016 Google Science Fair launches today, I wanted to share a few tips from my own experience: First, as my teacher once guided me to do, look at the world around you for ideas. If you’re stuck, try the Make Better Generator to find something that excites or inspires you. Second, find a mentor who’s interested in the same things as you. There are a lot of helpful ideas on the GSF site to get you started. And finally, don’t get discouraged—often what first appears like failure can teach you so much more.

I urge other teenagers like me to take this opportunity to find a way to make the world around them better. Every one of us, no matter our age or background, can make a difference—and as young people, we’re not always so afraid to try things that adults think will fail. But change doesn’t happen overnight, and it often starts with a question. So look at the world around you and challenge yourself to make something better.
Science isn’t just a subject—it’s a way to make things better. So I hope you’ll join the conversation and enter the Google Science Fair this year. Our world is waiting to see what you come up with!

Contest Spotlight: ‘Paying It Forward’ in honor of Black History Month

February 19, 2016

Are you a social change agent in your community or know someone who is?
If so, we invite you to join Google’s third annual “Pay It Forward” Contest.
At Google, we value diversity and inclusion, and we support individuals who do the same. Our Staffing Programs team is celebrating diversity and honoring Black History Month by inviting student organizations to showcase how they have positively impacted the Black community. We’re seeking US-based student organizations recognized and approved by their college, university, or business school that have organized service or philanthropic support for their community to share the impact they are making. Examples include volunteering at an after school program, fundraising for an initiative or starting a community project.
Last year, we showcased Elizabeth Davis, Robin McKinnie, Maurita Ament and Michael Tubbs who collectively are advancing the lives of hundreds of people across the country through their social impact work.
The deadline to enter the contest is February 29, 2016, at 11:59 pm PST. Submissions will be judged by a team of Googlers, who will be assessing the innovation, scale and the short- and long-term effects of your impact. Winning organizations will have the opportunity to present their work at the Google headquarters in Mountain View, CA, and have their work showcased on the Google Student Blog.
To both enter the competition and get more info, visit our 2016 Black History Month website.
We look forward to seeing your submission! THe Google Staffing Programs team

Managing your time effectively in the #AdMobSAC16

February 10, 2016

Here are some pointers for managing your time as your team gets started in the #AdMobSAC16.

January to February:

Organize your team; if you haven’t found a team, utilize Collabfinder to ensure you find the best team possible.
Assign tasks and deliverables for people according to their strengths.
Brainstorm your ideas for your app.
Put together your strategy for project completion.

Tip: This is also a good time to familiarize yourself with the AdMob app policy, which can be found in the AdMob Help Center.

March: As springtime approaches, your team should be in the heart of building the application. Focus on:

Design work and developing the basic elements of the app.
Aim to have a working prototype by the end of the month.
Don’t forget to integrate AdMob ads into your app. This is a key requirement.
Open it up for testing among a small group of trusted developers who are willing to provide detailed feedback.
Start thinking your app’s promotional strategy.

Tip: A large portion of #AdMobSAC16 is scored on the success of your app (such as the number of downloads and ratings - check the judging criteria for the full details) - you will need to give yourself enough time to put effort into promoting your app.

April:

Complete final testing and make refinements based on user feedback. Your app should be high quality, and part of that is responding to user suggestions.
Release your app on an app store and start promoting it.
Remember to submit your app and AdMob account ID to AdMob so we know you’ve built it.

May to June:

Continue promoting your app. Think about creative ways to do it.
Now will be the time to start readying your business report, which is due on June 28, 2016 by 5:00PM PST. The Challenge website already has a recommended template on it.
Remember, your project will be reviewed by a panel of app experts from Google, so your business report will need to be thorough and of professional-level quality.

Be sure to visit the AdMob website to register. Follow us on AdMob G+ and Twitter and keep an update on #AdMobSAC16 too, for regular updates on the challenge.
Posted by Jeff Miner AdMob Student App Challenge Team

We are excited to announce that Professor and Student Registrations for the 2016 Google Online Marketing Challenge (GOMC 2016) are now open.

February 1, 2016

The Google Online Marketing Challenge, now in its ninth year, is an annual global online marketing competition for students from higher education institutions around the world. Student teams develop and run an online advertising campaign using Google AdWords and/or Google+ for a real business or non-profit organization of their choice, using a US $250 budget provided by Google. An independent GOMC Panel of Academics, along with our own team, review the campaigns and select winning teams based on the success of their campaign and the quality of their competition reports. Why GOMC?

GOMC provides a unique, hands-on learning experience by integrating a real-world business partner and budget into the classroom.

Students get a chance to support their local community by working with a non-profit, and the opportunity to win donations from a total pool of US $30,000.

GOMC enables professors to provide their students with an engaging and innovative in-class experience, which provides real-world impact and grading material.

Great prizes for global and regional winners of the challenge, including trips to Google offices, digital devices and more.

To learn about the impact of the GOMC, check out this video.
What’s next? In order for a student team to participate in the competition, they need to have their professor register first. Professors can register from January 26th until April 6th, 2016, and students can register from January 26th until April 20th, 2016.
For more information, please visit www.google.com/onlinechallenge. To stay informed about GOMC, add our Google+ Page to your circles: google.com/+googleonlinemarketingchallenge.
Here’s your chance to make a global impact! The Google Online Marketing Challenge Team

Not your average app building competition: The AdMob Student App Challenge

January 28, 2016

Did you know that there are more mobile devices than people? In 2014, there were 7.4BN* devices and an estimated 7.2 billion people. Mobile is quickly becoming the most popular way to get online, even exceeding the time spent on desktop computers.** This has contributed greatly to the growth of the app ecosystem, with consumers spending on average 37 hours a month*** on mobile apps. As apps are becoming more prominent in our everyday lives, it’s more important now than ever to learn app development.

That’s why we’re launching the second AdMob Student App Challenge, an app building competition open to students around the world. If you’re a student who loves to code or has a great idea for a mobile app, this is your chance to build an app, learn how to make money from it, and win awesome prizes. The prizes will include a week-long trip to San Francisco and a visit to the Googleplex.

To win the challenge, you’ll need to build a great app (either Android or iOS) and create a sound business plan that shows how you managed the project, gained users, and leveraged AdMob to make money. The contest will be judged by a panel of app industry leaders. To learn more the judges, visit here.
The winning team will receive:

An all expenses paid, week-long trip to San Francisco, including a visit to the Googleplex in Mountain View, CA

A featured spot on the Google Play Store

A promotional video starring you and your app

A healthy amount of Google schwag, including a new Google device

Last year’s global winner was Phani Gaddipati, who created Stacks Flashcards, an app that lets people create electronic flashcards on any subject, quiz themselves and analyze their performance. Check out his video to learn more.
In addition to one overall winner, the finalist from each of the four global regions (North America, Latin America, Europe Middle East & Africa, and Asia Pacific) will receive Google devices and see their app featured on the AdMob website.
The challenge starts today, and you’ll have until June 28, 2016 to build your winning app. Be sure to visit the AdMob website to learn more and register. Follow us on AdMob G+ and Twitter and keep an update on #AdMobSAC16 too, for regular updates on the challenge. .
Best of luck -- we can’t wait to see what you build!
Posted by Henry Wang Product Marketing, AdMob

*Cisco, Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update 2014–2019 White Paper, February 2015 **eMarketer, US Time Spent with Media, October 2014 ***Nielsen, Smartphones: So Many Apps, So Much Time, July 2014

Applications are now open for Google’s 2016 Computer Science Summer Institute and 2016 Generation Google Scholarship!

January 8, 2016

We are now accepting applications for the 2016 Computer Science Summer Institute, as well as the 2016 Generation Google Scholarship. Learn more about both programs below and apply today!

What The Computer Science Summer Institute (CSSI) is a three-week introduction to computer science for graduating high school seniors with a passion for technology. Students will learn programming fundamentals directly from Google engineers, get an inside look at some of Google's most exciting, emerging technologies, and even design and develop their very own application with fellow participants.
The Generation Google Scholarship helps aspiring computer scientists from underrepresented groups excel in technology and become leaders in the field. Selected students will receive 10,000 USD (for those studying in the US) or 5,000 CAD (for those studying in Canada) for the 2016-2017 school year. As part of the scholarship, current high school seniors who are entering their first year of university in Fall 2016 will be required to attend CSSI in the summer of 2016.
Where & When We offer two types of sessions at CSSI: day-camp and residential. Our day camps will take place in Chicago, IL, Mountain View, CA, and New York City, NY. Our residential camps will take place in Cambridge, MA and Seattle, WA. To learn more, please visit our website.
Who We are looking for students eager to spend a few weeks immersed in the Google life -- tackling interesting technical problems, working collaboratively and having fun. The program is committed to addressing diversity in the field of computer science and is open to all qualified high school seniors who intend to major in computer science at a four year university in the US or Canada.
Why Google is committed to increasing the enrollment and retention of students in the field of computer science. These programs offer an intensive, interactive and fun experience that seeks to inspire the tech leaders and innovators of tomorrow. We want students to leave empowered, heading into their first year of college armed with technical skills and a unique learning experience that can only be found at Google. We aim to expose selected students to key programming concepts while enabling them to tackle the challenging problems in CS by creating a safe, comfortable environment to learn, play, break, and build.
Apply Visit our Google for Education website for more information and to apply. The application deadline is March 3, 2016. Final decisions will be announced in early May.
Questions? Give us a shout at cssi@google.com or generationgoogle@google.com.

Celebrating Android app creators

December 29, 2015

Ever wonder what makes an app great? After completing Udacity's Developing Android Apps course, these students created winning apps as voted on by their peers and Google engineers. Check out their work below and consider creating your own Android app today!

Ravi explains his app to Google engineers.

App Award: “Most Creative” App: Mozart's Masterpiece Creator: Ravi Srinivasan (junior at Virginia Tech) Background: The idea of the “Mozart’s Masterpiece” app came from Ravi’s love of piano playing (he’s played since he was six!). He wanted to create something that combined his interest in music and programming. The app is comprised of a mini keyboard where users can play a tune and see if the app can guess the song. Ravi said, “There are apps out there that teach users how to play, but I wanted to create an app that was a game for pianists.” Challenges: Ravi shared that it was difficult to decide what the UI would look like and noted that the sound detection was also no easy feat.

Here we have Dhruv and Brennan.

App Award: “Engineer's’ Choice” App: IVO Creators: Brennan McConnell (junior at University of Colorado Boulder) and Dhruv Diddi (junior at University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign) Background: Dhruv told us, “Brennan came up with the idea of having an app which locks social media to a geographic location and I was instantly interested in working on it. We took a few days to come up with a draft for the application (UI, methods to implement, frameworks to use) and settled on the name IVO (an appropriate acronym for "In Vicinity Of").” IVO is a social media app that allows users to post a message or picture in a given location using geocaching. Users in the future can look up the the location and see past photos and messages about the area. The social aspect comes from a feature that lets the users like and comment on the posts. Challenges: Aside from the technical skills required for making such a complex app, such as learning Java, developing a greater understanding of Android’s framework, and working with different APIs, the team also had to think about scaling the app to thousands of users.

Francesca, Christina, Jonah, and Daisy show that their app can be used across devices.

App Award: “People's Favorite” App: Glance Creators: Jonah Sterling (sophomore at University of Kentucky), Francesca Bueti (sophomore at Stevens Institute of Technology), Daisy Zhang (sophomore at Vanderbilt University), and Christina Tobias (sophomore at Syracuse University) Background: This team created an app, Glance, that connects all of a user’s social media accounts together and uses intricate algorithms to analyze what posts are most meaningful and relevant to the user. Christina said, “We thought that with everyone’s busy lives, we could help take out some of the clutter from their social media by finding who their top friends for each social media platform are and combining all these posts into one feed.“ Moreover, in an effort to make the app even more user-friendly, the app can be used across all devices. Challenges: The team agreed that developing new technical skills, like learning the fundamentals of creating an Android app, was the biggest takeaway for them. But most importantly, they gained a better understanding of what it’s like to collaborate on code. According to Daisy, “This was also my first time working in a team remotely, so I learned a lot about keeping up with everyone and making sure everyone was doing their part. I also learned that you don’t write the cleanest code at 3 in the morning, but you are super productive at that hour.”

Check out the app winners! Left to right: Dhruv, Brennan, Ravi, Christina, Daisy, Francesca, and Jonah.

Congratulations to these winners! We can’t wait to see what you come up with next. To learn more about ways to boost your computer science skills, visit the Google Student Programs website.