DEV Community: Induja

All About the Google Women Engineers Program

Induja — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 10:20:36 +0000

The Women Engineers Program, offered by TalentSprint and supported by Google, is a prestigious 2-year mentorship program for female engineering students aspiring for a career in tech. Previously known as the Google Women Techmakers Engineering Fellowship, the program provides first-years the opportunity, resources and mentorship to grow into competent software engineers.

The experiential program comprises live programming bootcamps, coupled with professional development sessions, mentorship and more.

In this article, I’ll detail the workings of the program, the application process, my experiences and some suggestions that you can use if you’re looking to apply for the program.✨

Eligibility Criteria

All students who wish to build a successful career in tech and meet the following eligibility criteria can apply:

Female students currently in first year of engineering,
Pursuing Degrees → B.E, B. Tech
In the Streams: CS, IT, ECE, EEE or equivalent
Having grades over 70% in both class 10 and 12

The WE Program is open for students belonging to India. Although, there's a sister program that has been newly launched for students in the US called TechWise at the time of writing.

Benefits & Perks

Being part of the Women Engineers Program brings many unparalleled benefits.

You get to attend live bootcamps and sessions to build technical proficiency with the help of brilliant mentors.
You develop the most needed skills to become an adept software engineer.
You will be surrounded by an amazing, supportive and high-achieving community of women across the country, with diverse backgrounds and talents.
You will receive mentorship from seasoned engineers at Google.
You also refine your soft skills to become a better software professional.
You get to build yourself a stellar profile that bags you opportunities at top companies.

The program also provides the chance to attend physical bootcamps at Hyderabad, and even a visit to the Google campus there. These have been put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the safety of the students.

Scholarship Structure & Fees

During the first two cohorts, all scholars were given 100% scholarship into the program along with a stipend of 2,00,000 INR. This, however, changed with our cohort (Cohort 3), so as to accommodate a larger number of female aspirants. The scholarship was extended to the top 500 of those who appeared for the final round.

UPDATE [as of 2022]: The program has gone back to offering 100% scholarships with a stipend for all students who get selected.

The total fee for the program is 3,00,000 INR out of which the scholarships were offered as follows:

Top 50 → 100% scholarship
Top 200 (51-200) → 50% scholarship
Top 500 (201-500) → 25% scholarship

There were EMI options to pay installments as well, for those who received 50% and 25% scholarships.

The Selection Process

The process to apply for the WE program looks roughly like this:

Online Application Phase
Online Aptitude Assessment
Online Coding Assessment
Selection List Notification & Program Enrollment

This was the process followed during my cohort selection (Cohort 3). It could be slightly different from the upcoming cohorts, but this should be the overall procedure.

Online Application Phase

The online application phase begins when the Selection Process for the next cohort is announced. Students can head to the official website to apply. The application window generally lasts for a couple of weeks. Participants who meet the eligibility criteria will be invited to take the Online Aptitude and Quantitative Reasoning Test.

Online Aptitude Assessment

You will be required to take a proctored online assessment which tests your reasoning mathematically, analytically and visually. The duration of the test was about 60 minutes.

Final Technical Test

The top scorers in the Aptitude Round will be shortlisted for the Final Round. This is a coding round, where your technical skills will be put to the test. It’s no doubt the most significant part of your application. You will be given a 2-week period before the final round for preparation. The WE program team will organize several masterclasses and practice sessions during this 2-week period for you to learn programming. You will be provided with several mock tests, doubt clearing sessions and resources to prepare.

In my cohort’s selection process, we were given the choice to select either of C++, Python or Java for the final coding assessment. You can prepare using any of these languages in the 2-week period in order to attempt the final test.

Meanwhile, you will also be invited to attempt an English Test. It is usually 50-60 minutes long and assesses your English proficiency in terms of speaking, reading, writing and level of comprehension. We attempted the test sometime before the final technical assessment.

At the end of 2 weeks, you will take your Final Technical Test. Make sure to have a comfortable and stable computer setup when you take the test. We could take the test as per our convenience within the allotted date range. Once you start the test, you will have a 3-hour window within which we were supposed to attempt a set of coding challenges and a set of multiple-choice questions.

I recall we had choice among the coding challenges, but all the questions in the MCQ section were mandatory. The questions asked during our cohort selection were easy-to-medium level for beginner programmers.

Announcement of Results

Once the final test is done, the results are declared via email and/or phone. I recall that the members from the WE Team called me up to declare the results. It was a Zoom call of about 15-30 minutes, where we had an interview of sorts.

During the call, I was asked about my career aspirations, my test performance and some behavioral questions about careers and the WE program itself. I found it fun because I really enjoy discussing about tech and what I aspire for. Although I feel it could’ve been tricky if you are nervous or not too resolute about career yet (which is totally cool, you shouldn’t feel pressurized to get fixated in the first year). The key here, I believe, is to be composed, confident, and honest when you tackle the questions.

The interviewer was really happy with my responses. They then revealed the result saying that I bagged the scholarship! It was an amazing feeling - watching a dream come true! :)

Setting yourself up for success

Aptitude Round

As mentioned, the aptitude round contained questions related to visual, analytical and mathematical reasoning. It’d be a good idea to go through with the typical topics and concepts that are asked in aptitude exams. Personally, I just brushed up those concepts from aptitude textbooks/guides I owned for Olympiads, NTSE, and other competitive exams. How deeply you’d want to prepare for this depends on how familiar you are with solving aptitude and mental ability questions with speed.

English Placement Test

The English test is easy in terms of difficulty, but you have to be paying close attention to the audio at all times. Some folks may find the accents distracting, so it's important to have full focus during the test. Make sure your environment is quiet for the entire duration. Try to speak naturally without pauses or filler words during the speaking tasks. Ensure that the volume at which you speak is not too loud or too soft. A quick Google search will be useful if you'd like to understand the test format and get more tips to prep.

Coding Assessment

For the technical assessment, I believe it is sufficient if you thoroughly utilize the material, live classes and resources the WE Team provides in the 2 weeks of learning. Even if you are completely new to programming. Don’t hesitate to get your doubts cleared by them. (Tip: Learn to ask good, quality questions. If googling can tell you the answer, google it first. This will help you not only during the selections, but also in any technical/professional community as well.)

You can also make use of online tutorials and platforms to practice easy to medium level questions. Build confidence in your fundamentals and you’re good to go!

Adopt a calm, patient mindset focused on making the most out of those 2 weeks. Yes, it’s tempting to wonder about getting selected😄, but just try to tune those voices out and focus on the learning. Trust me, regardless of whether you make it into the program, I’m sure that if you fully internalize the principles and techniques you’re being taught, you’ll be setting your coding journey on the right track.

Interview Round

During my cohort's selection, we did not have an interview round that had weightage on our selections. It was simply a conversational interview we had right before the team announced our selection in the call. Although, it appears that previous cohorts and the upcoming ones have had an interview round whose result was considered during the selections.

Should you have such a round, know that it's a good idea to step into this round with some preparation. Don't wait till the last minute or think of winging the interview. Nervousness can cause you to forget or fail to articulate what you want to convey. I'm sure you'd want to put your best foot forward.

The round will comprise of behavioral type questions. You will be asked about yourself, your interest in tech, and why you aspire for a career in tech. You may be asked about why you're interested in the WE program and what you hope to achieve via the same as well. You can expect other similar questions along these lines.

Technical questions may not be asked - but it's still fair game. Hence, expect any technical questions from the final coding test or similar. Nothing beyond your capacity will be asked, so there's no need to worry. Brush up on the fundamentals beforehand if you're new to programming.

As for the behavioral questions, think about what drives you to be a part of the tech industry and the WE Program. Ideally, you should be able to express your passion for technology clearly. Try to talk about what long term goals you want to achieve as a tech aspirant.

Remember that there's no "correct" answer here. It's cool if you haven't figured out what you want to do as a software engineer yet. No pressure at all. The interviewers are pretty chill. They understand that you're in your first year of college. As long as you show that you take active measures to learn and have some idea/direction about your career, that's enough!

Stay relaxed. Show confidence. Give genuine responses. They can tell if you are being honest or not, so make sure you're able to back up everything you say. Finally, make sure your setup is working properly. Double check your video, audio, internet and computer before the interview.

If you do clear all the rounds, congrats, you’re now a Women Engineers Program Scholar!

This is the start of a wonderful journey in your student life!

Do remember to keep up the passion and drive throughout the program. You will be expected to maintain active participation in the bootcamps, assignments and tests. This is the time you start working even harder towards your dreams!

My Experience with the WE Program

I absolutely enjoy every minute I get to spend as a part of the WE Program. The community and support from the Program’s team and my buddies makes me feel so blessed.

The program helped me reorient myself away from rat races and focus on what’s truly important to become a software engineer. The guidance and mentorship drives me to work on myself and enjoy building every day. It’s amazing to look back on my growth both professionally and skill-wise in the last set of months. It makes me excited about what’s in store in the next half of the journey.

My cohort buddies are all super brilliant, bringing in multitudes of talent. The passion that we all share towards coding and software engineering is energizing. It continues to inspire me to work harder and grow. :)

And that’s the end, folks! I hope this detailed guide helped you gain more insight into the program. Feel free to reach out to me via LinkedIn or Discord if you have any questions, I’ll be happy to help! Good luck!✨

Becoming a GitHub Campus Expert

Induja — Mon, 07 Feb 2022 19:57:00 +0000

The GitHub Campus Experts program is indeed one of the popular student community programs in tech. In this blog, I'll be sharing my experiences surrounding the program and some tips that will hopefully help you gain some insight into it.

Who are GitHub Campus Experts?

GitHub Campus Experts are student leaders who're driven to lead a tech community in their campus. They strive to build safe, diverse and inclusive spaces for students to learn, build and grow collaboratively.

They work closely with their peers to close the gap between industry and academia, creating new opportunities for students to learn industry-valued skills. Campus Experts can be found spearheading countless initiatives like workshops, meetups, hackathons, projects and more for their communities.

Why should you become a Campus Expert?

The GitHub Campus Experts program would be an amazing platform for you if:

You're interested in building/growing a tech community and create new opportunities for its members.
You'd like to get support and training from GitHub.
You'd like to collaborate with students leaders beyond your campus.

Sweeeeeet!

Who can apply to the program?

There are a minimal set of requirements listed by the program that you need to fulfill. You must:

Be at least 18 years old
Have a GitHub account that is at least 6 months old
Be in possession of the GitHub Student Developer pack! (Apply here)
Be enrolled in a post-secondary institution
Have more than 1 year as a student before graduating
Not be enrolled in the GitHub Campus Advisors Program

Commonly asked questions about eligibility

Q. Do I have to be from a specific stream or background to be eligible to apply?
Not at all! Students from all backgrounds aspiring to build/grow a tech community are encouraged to apply.

Q. Will I be evaluated based on my projects, GitHub profile or GitHub activity streaks?
Nope, you'll be evaluated only based on your application responses.

Q. How many Campus Experts can there be per campus?
The program generally accepts one student per campus, according to the official website.

Benefits of becoming a GitHub Campus Expert

The Campus Experts program is easily one of the best community initiatives I've been part of. As a GitHub Campus Expert, you get:

Training from GitHub - learn technical and professional skills like public speaking, technical writing, community leadership, and software development
Support to bring your community plans to life in the form of swags/prizes for your events and handling travel expenses for in-person events
Access to speaking opportunities and GitHub events
Be part of an extensive community of Campus Experts from around the world
And yes, amazing swag!

All pumped up to apply? Stick with me.

The Application process

Applications to the GitHub Campus Experts program opens twice a year - in February and August. You'll get about 2-3 weeks to submit your application.

Step 1: Complete the application form

The application form consists of some basic details you'll need to fill and 3 essay prompts to answer. The essay responses are meant for GitHub to understand who you are and what problems you are trying to solve for your community.

My suggestion would be for you to make sure you address the following in your essays:

Define who your community is. Who are the students who comprise your community?
Mention whether you are building a community or growing an existing one.
Talk about the struggles you face as a community. Outline how it hampers students from learning or achieving their goals.
Detail what the status quo is in your community. In what ways do they cope with these struggles?
Describe how the program will aid you in growing your community. This is important especially if you are part of multiple programs. It’d help to describe how GitHub Campus Experts, in specific, will support you with your community goals.
Additionally, you may also try to discuss why you think inclusivity and diversity are paramount in your community. It’s a great idea if you could even elaborate on ways in which you can achieve your diversity & inclusion goals.

Here's an excerpt from GitHub's own blog about the program, that talks about 4 key things they look for in applicants:

Motivation: What makes you tick? What drives you?

Interest: Why do you want to be part of the program?

Growth and potential: What kind of skills do you want to learn, and how will they help you grow personally and professionally?

Contribution: What kind of an impact do you want to make on your campus?

Once the application window closes, the applications are reviewed by GitHub. It takes about 2 weeks for the review.

Step 2: Submit a video resume

You will be notified via email at the end of the review if GitHub would like to move forward with your application. You'll then be invited to submit a video resume - a simple video of you talking about yourself, your community and your visions for the community.

The team would like to get to know you on a closer level through the video, so feel free to be yourself and be comfortable while recording your video. You'll have to submit the video resume in 2 weeks time. It takes about a week to review the videos. You'll be notified via email if you make it through.

Step 3: Welcome to the Program!

If you've made it this far, then congrats! You'll now be going through the Campus Experts training program. The training is one of my favorite parts of the program and the process. The value it brings to student leaders is fantastic!

In a span of 6 weeks, the selected Experts will go through a series of modules. They cover a range of skills - such as technical, professional and community building - that will set you up for success as a student community leader.

Step 4: Complete the Training

You analyze your community and apply the skills you gain from the modules to produce a community proposal. Your community proposal serves as a guide towards realizing your community goals. I absolutely enjoyed the process of drafting mine.

Once you complete the modules, your submissions will then be reviewed by the team. You might receive some suggestions to implement in your submissions too. This is to ensure that you make the best of out the training and put up an amazing submission.

When the submissions get approved, you're now a GitHub Campus Expert!

How you can ace your applications

(long one, brace yourself 😄)

Understanding your community and its needs requires a lot of thought and effort. Be sure to spend enough time with your essays before you submit. I highly recommend taking the full span of the time until the deadline to write your essays rather than rushing through it a day or two before.

Reflection helps a lot to refine your thoughts and bring clarity. Often, your first draft is never representative of your best self. Make sure to pen down your ideas, goals and thoughts across regular intervals and draft them as you go. Ideas that may not occur to you at first attempt will come to you as you spend more time with the essays.

You may also try to have conversations with folks in your community to validate your understanding of the community and possibly even pick up points that you might not have thought of.

Try to pen down your thoughts candidly. Your essay responses must reflect how deeply you understand your community and your resolve to contribute positively.

It doesn't help to surf the internet for generic lines and put them in your essays. Do not attempt to plagiarize others responses either (It will be detected by GitHub). Every community is different and so are their needs. Hence, do set aside ample time to address the prompts. A simple, genuine, honest response can create an impactful essay. Focus on how you'd like to solve the struggles your community faces.

Do make an attempt to understand diversity & inclusion if you are new to the concept. It might be a daunting prompt to address, but I suggest that you approach it with empathy and an open-mind. Try to analyze where and why you need diversity and inclusion within your community.

I'd suggest to come up with possible solutions of how you will tackle the shared struggles faced by your community as well. Try to illustrate what actions you could take as a Campus Expert that will benefit the community. Remember, it's more about 'us' than 'I'. Lastly, notice that the prompts may contain multiple parts to them. Make sure you address each question in the prompt.

You do not have to be an expert with tech or have tons of achievements under your belt to become a Campus Expert. All you need is the drive to take initiative and a deep understanding of your community to apply!

As for the video resume: I believe that it will be a lot easier for you to tackle it provided you have spent enough time understanding your community needs. The groundwork and effort I put in my essays helped me a lot when I was prepping for the video. It was such a time saver as well. I'm sure it'll be super helpful for you too!

I can't stress enough how much reflection and iteration have helped me. In fact, the efforts I put during the applications were incredibly useful during the Training phase too!

As awesome as swags are, I'd also like to take a moment to note that the GitHub Campus Experts program is a lot more than the swags. Swags are just one visible part of the program. The resources, support and network you receive as a Campus Expert is quite unparalleled compared to other student programs. We must make best use of an opportunity when we're trusted with it, shouldn't we? So I'd kindly request you to apply with a determination to make positive impact through the platform instead of pursuing swags (if you're in that mindset).

My Experience ✨

I was introduced to the GitHub Campus Experts program through the GitHub Student Developer Pack. It's a goldmine of a toolkit that I enjoy using for building projects, picking up skills and more. I was contemplating bringing a technical community to my campus for the first time, and the program seemed to be a great place to start building.

The GitHub Campus Experts program gave me the much-needed nudge to take the step toward bringing all my plans to action. The platform the program provides is absolutely amazing! The support we receive inspires us to impact students more. The training modules were super informative and taught me skills I’ll carry into my professional life as well. The best part, in my opinion, is the brilliant community of Campus Experts we get to be part of. Each and everyone is super inspirational in their own right ✨

So that's a wrap, folks! All the relevant links for this program can be found in the GitHub Education website.

Thank you for reading! I hope this was worth your time and provided you with useful insights. Please feel free to reach to me if you have any queries (or if you'd simply like to connect!) via LinkedIn. I'll be happy to help! Good luck!