Jul 26, 2022
Flutter-ing at Google I/O Extended 2022 in Da Nang, Vietnam
Due to COVID-19, it’d been more than two years since Google I/O Extended Bangkok was held offline. Fortunately, the on-ground event made a return this year on 11 June 2022. I reunited with other developers and went on the stage to discuss 10 mobile security issues, including how we could solve all those problems with Flutter.
I also had the privilege of talking to Google Developer relations, Janise and Nhi. The conversation then led to an invitation for me to speak about Flutter at Google I/O Extended Mien Trung 2022 at Da Nang, held at Grand Mercure Danang. Since this would be my first time talking in English on a big stage, naturally I felt nervous. However, once I remembered that English is not the primary language used in both Thailand and Vietnam, I was a bit relieved 😆
Accepting the invitation, my first task was to determine what about Flutter I wanted to talk about. I began by researching Flutter in Vietnam and was stunned by how popular it actually is there. Here’s the Google Trend that compares Swift and Flutter in Thailand and Vietnam
I filtered the range from 3 years ago to the present. The stat shows how the interest in Flutter in Vietnam is larger than in Thailand, which is close to 1:1 compared to Swift. Now, I know this might not be a precise representation, but at least I knew that I had to think about the topic carefully, especially since I would be there as a the representative of KBTG. If I chose a topic that was too basic, they might think KBTG didn’t know much about Flutter. Then again, if the topic was too advanced, the talk might become boring and I could easily lose the audience’s interest.
I decided to talk with my supervisor at KBTG, and together we came up with a scope of discussion where I would talk about my 3-year experience with Flutter. Our project, MAKE by KBank, is the first and most extensive mobile banking created with Flutter in Thailand, so we believed this was a suitable use case to tell our story. We put in the work that we have done over 3 years, pouring our heart and soul into this slide, hoping to showcase KBTG’s innovation. Finally, it was time for the event!
I flew to Vietnam a day early to get accustomed to the country and the place, figuring it would help reduce my nervousness. After I landed and finished checking in, I went around the city to explore their cuisine, researching online reviews to see which local dishes I should try 🤤 Enjoy working, traveling, and finally eating as well.
After dinner, I headed back to the hotel to rehearse the presentation some more. Some people say when you speak for 10 minutes, you must prepare for at least 1 hour. Since I had to talk for 40 minutes, that 6 hours of preparation for me 😵
After a good night of sleep, courtesy from my stay at the Grand Mercure, the same place where the event would be held, the first thing I did at the event was to take a photo with our booth and helped the team out a bit with some errands.
The event registration started around 12:00pm, but people were already lining up at 11:30am. I’d never thought this event was such a big one, expecting it would be similar to Google I/O Extended Bangkok with around 200 participants. However, here we were looking at about 1,000 people!
KBTG was one of the sponsors for this Google I/O. It was a perfect event for us since we recently established KBTG Vietnam and are looking to recruit Vietnamese developers.
One thing that surprised me was how Vietnamese weren’t afraid of COVID at all! Maybe it’s because everyone in Thailand still wears mask, seeing people without it here was an unfamiliar scene. Our KBTG booth was so busy. Tons of developers showed up and expressed their interests in joining our organization. We could definitely call this a success.
The official event began at 1:00pm, taking place at the big hall which could contain about 500 people. The first agenda was an introduction to the event and speakers. Each of us received a gift set containing stickers, a shirt, a pencil, and Kingston Bottle! I immediately opened the bottle and flipped it around to see if this bottle had any USB ports. Unfortunately, it’s just a regular bottle 😅
Afterward, the stage was handed over to Thanussak Thanyasiri, Managing Director of KBTG Vietnam, where he discussed the future of banking and how KBTG is planning to be ahead of these trends.
The presentation finished around 2:00pm. I went to my room to rehearse for the final time, getting ready for my talk at 4:30pm. Sneaking a peek into the blue room, I saw that it wasn’t as big as the other room. It could probably fit around 50 people at most. Phew, I was less nervous 😆
Before I knew it, it was showtime. Let’s show everyone what I’ve learnt in the past three years.
Below is the slide that I used for the event. Feel free to check it out.
The talk lasted about 35 minutes (5 minutes earlier than scheduled, which I reserved in case something unexpected happened) and I was done for the day. Hooray! After the conference, I was so exhausted from the nervousness I’d been feeling all day, so I decided to stay in the room, relaxed, and enjoyed the scenic view with Thailand’s signature dish: Tom Yum Kung flavored instant noodles 😝
I couldn’t possibly end this article without saying a huge thanks to KBTG who cover all my expenses during this trip, including the plane ticket fare, transportation fee and a stay at a 5-star hotel. That’s why I have so many lovely photos to share in this article!
Lastly, here’s the night view from my hotel, with the dragon bridge fire show starting at 1:03. Definitely worth staying in.
Want to read more stories like this? Or catch up with the latest trends in the technology world? Be sure to check out our website for more at www.kbtg.tech
