Google Cloud Next ’23 must-see experiences

Attending Next ’23 in-person? Be sure to visit these must-see experiences

Published in

Google Cloud - Community

4 min readAug 26, 2023

Google Innovators Hive hero image with the letters N,e,x,t jumbled together

For the first time since 2019, Google Cloud Next will return to Moscone Center to be held in-person for 2023! If you are attending in-person, be sure to check out the following experiences to get the most out of Next ‘23!!

Next ’23 in-person experiences

Google will be taking over Moscone Center August 29–31 with over 200 breakout sessions, hands-on learning and certification challenges, and 1:1 access to Google Cloud experts at the Innovators Hive. Whether you are new to Google Cloud or have years of experience, there is plenty to see and experience first-hand at Next!

Persona Zones

Google has curated interactive demos, micro-challenges, immersive learning, games, one-on-one time with Google experts, architecture deep dives, and more into six zones, each tailored to a cloud practitioner persona:

Application developers
Cloud architects
Data practitioners (data engineers, data scientists, data analysts, and DBAs)
AI developers
Productivity developers (including low-code/no-code)
DevOps engineers and SysAdmins

I’ll be hanging around the Data Practitioners area, so come say hello!

Community Hub

Connect with thought leaders, have “birds of a feather” conversations, join new communities, and watch the action on the lightning talks stage in the Community Hub. Represented IRL will be:

You’ll also have the opportunity to ask technical questions and discuss personal development with our diverse speakers, who are a mix of Champion Innovators, Partners, and Googlers.

Tech Training Zones

Sign up for one of the Google Cloud training workshops or get your Associate Cloud Engineer certification renewed (limited capacity available). Training workshop content covers some of the hottest topics in the cloud and are designed to accommodate multiple learning styles. Whether you are spinning up your first virtual machine, orienting to generative AI, or ready to get Google Cloud certified, come away with new cloud skills that will advance your career and add value to your organization.

Check out the training workshops available at Next this year in the session library.

Learning and Certification Booth

Meet Google Cloud Learning experts, come with your questions, share your learning experiences, and discover the latest training resources available to help you achieve your skilling aspirations.

Champions and Certified Lounge

Exclusively for Champion Innovators and the Google Cloud Certified community, the lounge will offer refreshments, snacks, exclusive gifts and a curated program of speakers and events.

Sustainability

Google will be showcasing their commitment to working with you to create a more sustainable world. Come explore and learn how to integrate these technologies in your next project:

Challenges

Whether you are attending in-person or via the Digital Pass, be sure to check out the following challenges for your chance to learn new skills, compete with your peers to show off your #googleclout, and earn exclusive digital badges.

Play the Google Cloud Arcade

Head to The Arcade to participate in games that feature hands-on learning labs. Complete labs and you’ll earn digital badges. These badges award you points that you can use to redeem great Google Cloud swag from the prize counter, including backpacks, t-shirts, mugs, and more. You can even choose charitable donations.

Access the Cloud Arcade

Play the Fly Cup Challenge

Enter the Google Cloud Fly Cup Challenge, a four-stage developer-focused competition, created in collaboration with the Drone Racing League (DRL) challenging you to predict drone racing results using DRL data and help DRL pilots enhance their season performance.

This challenge is now open to all developers registered for Next ’23, regardless of skill level and enables you to explore the power of Google Cloud’s AI and analytics tools. Through the challenge, you can: