My Experience with the Google WTM Scholars Program
Hello Readers!
This article is about my whole journey with the WTM Scholars Program throughout the various stages! I am Shivani Chander, currently pursuing my Bachelors in Technology, in Computer Science and Engineering at the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli and a proud Woman in Tech, hoping to see many more!
Through the Women Techmakers Scholars Program — formerly the Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship Program — Google is furthering Dr. Anita Borg’s vision of creating gender equality in the field of computer science by encouraging women to excel in computing and technology and become active leaders and role models in the field.
The benefits of this program include a scholarship amount, a fully funded retreat at a Google APAC office and a wonderful network of like-minded women in tech.
Attending a networking event in Google’s Hyderabad Office — the Tech Intern Connect, I guess, put my name into their mailing list and around late July, I received a mail about the applications for the Google Women Techmakers Scholars Program — Asia Pacific.
The eligibility criteria were simply to identify as a female studying CS or a related major in a university in the Asia-Pacific region, and to show leadership in the community and passion for change.
With the semester just having started, I had enough time in hand and thought I could give it a shot at least for the sake of writing the essays as I always feel such essays make us get to know ourselves better!
Apart from asking for basic details, the first stage of the application included
- Copy of your Resume
- Copy of your Academic Transcript
- Three personal essays that show your concern and passion for Women in Tech
This was easily the smallest and effective application I’ve ever seen!
I spent some time with myself looking back at the various issues I’ve faced as a Woman in Tech from not being allowed to work in Spider’s Labs during the night to many other structural impediments faced since childhood.
I also retrospected on the various steps I’ve taken to make the scene of Women in Tech better and also jotted down my ideas for the same that I could take up in future.
A key point here is to be very honest in your essays and not exaggerate and to write about the elements that matter the most especially since there will be a word limit.
I got my friends to review my essays and got much-needed feedback and this is something I would suggest as a must-do for everybody applying.
I also looked up (stalked?) past scholars on the various social media and messaged them for their opinions on my essays. I’m really grateful to Vahini, a senior from IIIT, Delhi for reading through the various drafts of my essay and giving the best inputs! It’s really amazing how the concept of social media is in this case — connecting 2 women from opposite parts of the country and being of great help.
Two weeks after filling my application, I received a mail from Google saying that I’d been selected for a 30–45 minute interview with a Google Engineer. The e-mail clearly mentioned, “This interview is not a technical interview but rather an opportunity for us to learn more about you and your future goals and ambitions. You will be asked questions about your application, including your technical accomplishments, leadership, community engagement, and interest in technology.”
I spent some time reflecting on my essays, reviewing my projects and practiced a mock interview with a senior.
The interview was a genuine 40-minute conversation with a Google engineer who was friendly and understanding and posing questions that further brought out my passion for Technology as well as the cause of Women and other underrepresented groups in Technology.
She was really interested in one of the projects I was a part of — ListenIn, which was a technical project driven by a social aim. I’m glad I got to be a part of Spider, the Research and Development Club of my University, and do such interdisciplinary projects which continue to interest everybody I talk to it about. Spider has provided me with an excellent platform to nurture my technical skills and a perfect peer group for the same!
Two weeks after the Interview, I got a call from Anjali, a warm Googler (that’s what employees of Google are called :D) who tried to play a prank and then gave the sweet news of my selection for the scholarship and to get my Visa Ready to fly to Singapore!
Anjali made sure all the scholars from India were well acquainted before the retreat itself by keeping the social media groups abuzz and video calls.
The fully funded retreat is one of the best parts of the scholarship for being a confidence booster as a first trip abroad alone for most and for the activities that make up the retreat.
Upon reaching Singapore, a welcome dinner was arranged at the Hotel where all of us bonded instantly and had a fun-filled Karaoke night, not to mention the dance to Gangnam Style by a Googler! The energy in the room was so promising of the fun the next few days had in store.
The participants were so diverse from 3rd-year Bachelors students like me to Ph.D. scholars and from young teens to mothers of schoolkids. I went back to my room in the Hotel which I shared with a scholar from China, excited about the days to come.
After a sumptuous breakfast in one of the Cafes at the Google Office which had more cuisines than that I knew of, we went to the room that would be witness to all our activities.
The first session made us feel proud of ourselves for being the 73 chosen ones from 14 different countries out of the 25000 applicants. After a wonderful Welcome Keynote by a woman leader at Google, the session on Bias Busting by Googlers from the Sydney and Singapore offices taught us how biases unconsciously find a way into our decisions and how important it is to get rid of such biases.
This was followed by the awaited Office Tour that exposed us to the many aspects of the culture at Google and the way of work.
Post lunch, there was a fun Mystery Room event that involved us cracking down clues in teams and solving quite hard puzzles. After this, there were sessions and panel discussions on Tech by Google Engineers. Then, there was a session on Competitive Coding, especially the Kickstart format of Google.
The day ended with a South East Asian Food Festival with a photo booth and a calligraphy artist. We returned with cool pictures and Google schwag personalized in calligraphy.
The second day started with an inspirational Keynote by Priyanka Pundhir and was followed by a former scholars panel who told us about their experiences post their retreat and what they were up to.
There was a Codelab on Android Things where we coded an app based on Image Processing to run on an embedded system. The next session was about some of the interesting projects going on in Google Offices. Many eager eyes could be seen for their next session on making a good CV and a presentation of how Google interviews go.
Concluding the day was the Outreach Planning session which involved discussions on what we would do back in our country for the community.
A lavish dinner was planned at the National Gallery of Singapore and the day came to a close.
The first session of the last day was called #IAmRemarkable and had the most impact on every one of us there. It involved writing and saying out why we thought we were remarkable and it was not as easy as one thinks it is. We were made to realize our worth and to confidently speak of our accomplishments as it expresses the ideals and the strong person that we represent.
The retreat ended with a Scavenger Hunt around Singapore where we toured the place in trains and went to popular Tourist spots.
The retreat was a celebration of women in technology and by the end, we had bonded with like-minded peers of ours by sharing our stories and experiences. The best part of this journey was the other amazing, super-talented women I got to interact with and shall continue to.
At the end of 5 days, we returned with much more confidence and pride about being women techies, a diverse network of women and of course, loads of Google schwag ;).
With the fund and support from Google and Women Techmakers, each of us looks forward to doing our part to the community in a better way!
I am grateful to the past scholars who advised , my friends who reviewed my essays and mock interviewed me, and would like to take this opportunity to say that if any of you need a new pair of eyes to review your essays or ask any clarifications, do feel free to message me on Facebook, LinkedIn, or e-mail me at shivani.nitt@gmail.com
