Google Tech Intern Connect — 2019
As the sound of the wheels of my luggage bag, rolling at the Mumbai airport, echoed in my ears, there was another bag of memories that I was carrying back with me, memories that I’ll cherish forever.
It all started with Richa briefing us interns about Tech Intern Connect event on the day of our orientation. Google Tech Intern Connect is an event wherein people interning outside Google are invited to Google India offices for a day, to interact with Googlers, and get insights about what it is like to work here at Google. It was on that day that I had decided that I would definitely be a part of the organising team for this, as it’ll be one-of-a-kind experience for me. Though I had been organising and conducting events in various tech communities across Delhi, but this would give me an exposure on how events are conducted on a larger canvas, with all four Google India offices (Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Gurgaon) conducting sessions simultaneously, connected over a GVC.
And, when there arose an opportunity to go to Mumbai and host the event at the Google Mumbai office, I instantly volunteered, jumping with excitement! My internship host also graciously encouraged me to go for the same. The task which lay ahead was for sure challenging, especially because I was going to be the only intern at the Mumbai office who would be taking care of organising the event as well as coordinating with the Google offices in other locations, but that’s what made it all the more exciting!!
After great efforts of the Talent & Outreach team and all the interns, the sessions were finalised and in no time, it was 28th June already, and we were all pumped up to host our attendees on the 29th!
We, Anurag (from Talent and Outreach Team) and me, started from our hotel in Bangalore early in the morning, around 4:30 am, to catch our flight for Mumbai.
We arrived there around 10:30 am, with the Mumbai monsoon welcoming us, rather at a colossal level. :P
Soon, we reached the Google Mumbai office and had back to back meetings, with various facility teams there. We discussed each and every thing, right from the arrangement of chairs and bean bags, to the menu for each meal for the next day.
By evening, we had set everything up for the coming day, all excited to host all the invited interns at our office, still apprehensive if the strength would be as expected or not, due to the massive rains. Yet, all excited, we assembled all kits for the interns and the presenters.
Anurag also gave me a quick tour of the YouTube Mumbai office, which was so pretty, with an amazing view from the windows!
Finally, all tired and exhausted, I reached the hotel. With a stream of thoughts crossing my mind every minute, about what the coming day beholds for us all, I didn’t even realise when I slept and finally, the much awaited day was there!!!
We started with arranging Google Schwag Bags on each chair, for every intern to grab as soon as they arrive!
At around 8:30am, my excitement reached its peak when I got to know that the first batch of interns had started coming in… And in no time, the hall was full of interns! We started welcoming the other invited interns for breakfast, after badging. Excited as they all were, it didn’t take them much time to mingle with each other.
The event started sharp at 9:30, across all four Google offices, connected over a GVC. We began with a round of fun, interesting questions over a Poll, followed by the ice-breaker session. It was so good to see the attendees running around the entire place, trying to learn more about each other to fill in their Bingo sheets.
At around 10 am, we had a tech talk, on ‘Google Product Journey’, wherein all the attendees got an insight into how things work here, at Google. This was followed by a quick 15 minutes Q&A session, wherein our curious attendees tried to ask everything possible to experience what it is to work at Google.
The next lined up session was the one for which all the attendees were the most excited about: The KickStart session. Attendees were given coding questions to solve, while an experienced Googler was there to help them out. There were deep discussions about which approach could be used to solve the problems in least complexity.
Oh also, did I mention that all the attendees who actively participated in these sessions got their hands onto some more Google Schwags?!
After this intense coding session, we had a lunch break cum networking session, wherein the attendees enthusiastically raised all their queries and we were glad to answer them to their complete satisfaction.
To rejuvenate everyone and set up their mood, we then had a quick energiser session, followed by the ‘I am Remarkable’ Workshop. This workshop was so helpful for everyone to look deep inside themselves, challenge their perception of ‘self promotion’ and celebrate their achievements!
Soon after this, we had the last session for the day, which was a surprise for all the attendees: ‘Google Theater Company — Improv’. It was one of the most loved sessions of the day, with everyone letting go of their inhibitions and apprehensions, stepping out of their comfort zone, teaming up and interacting with each other.
With this, our day came to wrap. Seeing smiling faces all across, we knew we had done a good job! Some attendees also stayed back for some more time to interact with us, learn more about the culture at Google etc.
I will cherish the sweet memories of Tech Intern Connect 2019 for a long long time, as they remain vividly etched in my thoughts, forever! 💞
A huge shoutout to all my co-interns and the Talent and Outreach team, here at Google, for making this possible in the way it was: so beautiful, and so memorable, in so many little ways. Kudos to all of us!!
