Google Prepares DevFests, Cloud Platform Competition

Google continues its efforts to engage software developers this autumn through the sponsorship of its second annual Google Developers Group DevFest events around the world, as well as a Google Cloud Platform Developer Challenge where participants will be tasked with building locally relevant web applications that could solve real-world problems.

The DevFest events were unveiled in a 3 September post by Uttam Tripathi, a programme manager on the Google developer relations team who is coordinating this year’s global event, on the Google Developers Blog.

Broader scope

“Last year was the first time the Google Developer Group (GDG) community hosted a series of DevFests globally,” with 77 DevFests across 41 countries reaching over 14,000 developers, wrote Tripathi. “Inspired by the success of last year’s DevFests, we are working with GDGs around the world to enable an even larger set of events this year.”

The 2013 DevFests will be held in two time frames, 13 to 29 September and 18 October to 10 November, he wrote. “Across both seasons, GDGs plan to host more than 160 DevFests spread over 63 countries that are expected to reach over 30,000 developers. More than 20 countries will have their first-ever DevFest this year.”

The DevFests are community-run events where developers can hear speakers on various topics, participate in all-day hack-a-thons and code labs, and share ideas and insights with like-minded developers, according to Google.

Interested developers can search for a DevFest near their location to participate.

“Each GDG DevFest will be inspired by and uniquely tailored to the needs of the developer community that hosts it,” wrote Tripathi. “While no two events will be exactly alike, each GDG DevFest will at its core be powered by a shared belief that when developers come together to exchange ideas, amazing things can happen.”

All active GDG chapters are also invited to host their own DevFests. DevFests can be organised year-round and are community-run events, according to Google.

Cloud Developer Challenge

The Google Cloud Platform Developer Challenge is also aimed at seeking the best and brightest ideas from developers through a competition that runs from now through 22 October, according to a 5 September post by Chukwuemeka Afigbo, a Google Cloud Platform programme manager on the Sub-Saharan Africa outreach team, on the Google Developers Blog.

“Google Cloud Platform is used around the world to create and deploy solutions that are affordable, scalable and easy to maintain,” wrote Afigbo. “These qualities empower developers worldwide to solve local and global challenges with cloud technology. This sets the stage for the very first Google Cloud Platform Developer Challenge,” where participants will be asked “to build locally relevant web applications that solve real-world problems. You will have the opportunity to wow the world with your awesome web application built on Google App Engine using Google APIs like the Google+, YouTube and Maps APIs.”

The first round of submissions will start on 22 October in two categories – Enterprise/Small Business Solutions/Education/Not for Profit and Social/Personal Productivity/Games/Fun, according to Afigbo. Submissions will be accepted from six regions: Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, India and the rest of the world.

The events will be organised through GDGs, Google Business Groups and Google Student Ambassadors , according to Afigbo.

Cash prizes

Prizes of $20,000 (£13,000) will be awarded to the winning entries in each region and category. “We are devoted to raising the next generation of information technology experts as well as encouraging diversity among software developers,” Afigbo wrote. “In line with this, we have special prizes for all-female teams. Any all-female all-student teams that make the second round will receive a prize of $3,000. There are also prizes available for those who are interested in mentoring contestants.”

Google also recently announced that it is hosting a two-day Chrome Dev Summit in November where Chrome developers can come to get the latest information on new APIs, performance enhancements and more to continue to improve and grow their Chrome apps development. The Summit is being held from 20 to 21 November, 2013, at Google’s Mountain View, California headquarters.

The Summit event is being planned as a way for developers to connect with Chrome engineers to improve application performance, learn techniques for building applications for multiple devices, enhance productivity with tested workflows and explore the implementations of APIs in Chrome, according to the Summit’s website.

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Originally published on eWeek.