Google India Challenge Scholarship : Android Developer Track

Hello everyone! I am Nikita Kotak, a Computer Engineering student, a Tech enthusiast and have deep interest in the fields of Android, IoT, AI, ML and OS..

Background : So coming to a brief history, my interest in programming commenced right from my Grade I when computer as a subject was introduced to me. Till my second grade I was learning to play around that little turtle in LOGO and studying the history of Computer Development, its hardware/software components and much more.. In those days I didn't have a computer at home so used to go Dad's office to introspect the machine further. Later fascinated by my interest in computers Dad bought me a machine in my third Grade.. And the journey began... I started exploring all sorts of applications, dad also introduced me to E-mail and other social networking later. I also joined a training course  in Computer Basics to understand more about Windows, the OS and all technicalities(I was little to understand these concepts in detail then, but tried to understand whatever I could). Meanwhile in school we were progressing with programming concepts like if-else, loops etc and languages like QBASIC, HTML, CSS, C etc. Believing in my interest I took Computer Engineering after HSC and am happily working today in fields of Android, IoT, AI, ML and OS..

(Computer Day celebrated every year in school, in which I always participated in Quiz and Project Competitions and have also won few awards..!! )

Coming to the Android Developer Track Scholarship, my journey in Android started with few projects and assignments in Second Year in college. I had a basic understanding of the concepts then. But I developed further interest as I started conducting workshops as a facilitator for Google Applied CS with Android program at my campus along with the DSC Lead at my Campus Rucha Tambe.(Our story : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjtSSkUNWDo) I started watching videos, tutorials and reading on  Android. There were many activities that we conducted in Applied CS program like quizzes, code sprints, group discussions and we also solved a local business problem by developing an Android App.. The best part of this was that in the tenure I interacted with many facilitators from institutions all over India and we formed a group of like-minded developers. 

I had previously done free Android courses of Udacity and then read about the Google India Challenge on twitter and also there was a talk about the same on the facilitators group! I applied for the same but was not sure if I'll be able to make it as there are such talented Android professional developers all across India. But the sunshine of 7th Feb showed me a new path to garner my interest further in Android when my phone buzzed with an Email's notification.. 😄😄 My happiness knew no bounds..

A fully enthusiastic and active community on slack channel and forums right from freshers to the experiences!! I was equally excited like a kid on the first day of school is😂 After introducing myself on the slack channel and forum, I started with the course on 15th Feb and was happy to see the well-structured format of learning. I made it a point to be active on slack channel and forums atleast an hour or two everyday and simultaneously complete the course content.. 

I absolutely enjoyed discussing with various developers about their ideas on #showcase, #general_discuss, #share_ideas etc.. The most amazing fact was that you post a query with this amazing community and get solutions within minutes. Even searching about that error on web browsers would take time😃 Such was the experience and readiness to help of developers here!!! Also every week AMA and live_help sessions helped us get guidance from mentors and experts! The concept of meet_study_buddies and native place channels helped us interact better and grow further. 

The learning process was absolutely amazing, but it did not end here.. Concept wise Quizzes and weekly practical challenges helped test our understanding of the subject! Later collaborative projects commenced... Another amazing short episode of this journey.. I got the privilege to become Co-Mod for Explore India app and meet amazing developers in the process. Being a student, I learnt the way industry functions with making applications and also got to learn many new concepts.. Donut was another interesting concept wherein we were paired in groups to learn and develop together..

We are in the last week of this journey now and I am sure much more awaits us.. Overall it has been such a great learning experience that has strengthened me as a developer!!!😄 Do leave your comments below!

Smart India Hackathon 2018

The journey of Smart India Hackathon'18 started with the notice put up in our college and of-course the whatsapp messages that were doing rounds on our class groups. We had heard about this last year as our seniors had done amazing projects and also had won prizes. That was the motivation and  thus started the phase of team formation. Each one approaching the other and trying to form a best team with multi-talented students! It was indeed fun! We thus landed up forming a team with each one have various technical expertise and different domains of interest. Every live or facebook session raised the bar of excitement within in and there began the process of selecting problem statements. This was a tough task, with more than 300 problem statements, selecting a task where we can contribute to build an application to the best of our abilities and more importantly learn in the process was very difficult. 

But the spirit and enthusiasm of the team was high. The fact that each member  was regular and on time for all the discussions regarding problem statements selection and solutions building proved the excitement 😊 We submitted three solutions, and awaited the results as each day passed by.. Eventually on 28th feb the results were announced and guided our ways to the first ladder of success!! Our idea of a web portal to document stories, historical facts and anecdotes of India’s international trade had succeeded.We were all happy and equally encouraged to bring our  ideas into action. With academics and other extra-curricular activities each one of us gave atleast few hours every day to  shape our design and mould it into a useful product... Then came the date of Grand Finale. We were ready with our standee, banner, tshirts and most important our application model😄

Our nodal centre was Mumbai, a 4 hour journey from Pune and unlike any other journey our 4 hours were filled with tech-talks, our design, what could be improvised. Each brain was processing to its fullest to turn the idea into a successful product. And thus arrived the day of Finale : 30th March. With a sense of honour and privilege to be able to witness such a grand Hackathon we put on our t-shirts with our names and reached the nodal centre. With the live telecast from so many colleges all across India and a inspiring opening speech boosted our confidence to develop thus removing that small pinch of nervousness within us!

We began coding for our design which was a webapp for international trade stories, with badges to encourage writers, daily updated trade news, trade related annecdotes and summaries based on articles, an intelligent assistant to guide and help on the web portal, graphs and statistics, chat rooms, OCR for uploading articles and much more.. We began developing modules one after the other and in the process did not realize that time had flown from morning to evening. After dinner we continued, though we were a little sleepy but Yoga and Zumba sessions kept us awake and going. Throughout we had mentors and reviewers reviewing and guiding and gave us deep insights into making our product. The guidance helped us understand what the industry actually needs and what should be our target audience. This was the turning point where we tried to include better summarization techniques from data available and presenting it to user in essential format thus guiding one into trade..

We also had fun interactions with a radio and news channel interviewers! The successive day began and being able to implement on the guidance received from experts energized us further. We were almost ready with a proper product until the final review commenced! The experts appreciated our efforts, the idea and implementation!! We felt a sense of satisfaction and content. Then was time for results for the final presentation. Hurray!!We rejoiced as we heard our name second in the list.. Quickly we prepared ourself for the final presentation. The presentation went well and we relaxed. Awaiting the results we felt nervous but also a sense of pride and content of getting the opportunity to witness the finale! And the announcements started with us hoping for the best.. and finally our name announced, we won the fourth prize in Department of Commerce. With immense joy we accepted the award enjoyed the moment.

I know, The article has been a long read.. But it was difficult to sum up such an amazing, learning and memorable experience in words. In this entire event we learnt team spirit, time management, industry standards and got strengthened as developers. We had fun and simultaneously learnt new technologies in the process and also realized our strong point in technology and got a chance to improve weak points in technology. Now we sincerely wish to completely develop and deploy this as an end product useful to society!!😄😄😄

Your views and comments are welcome!! 😄