Earlier last summer, I had the opportunity to attend Google IO / NA Connect. As the President of the Google Developer Club at my university and have had the opportunity to engage 800+ attendees over the course of the year, this event was a definite favorite of mine, in being able to get a more in depth understanding of the Google Developer Tools, Updates and innovations which students in my community can use and experiment with in their projects.
Google IO Connect 2023
The NA Connect Experience
The NA Connect event was filled with informative talks and a full audience of GDEs, GDSC’s, and GDGs. During the course of the event, we got to experience Google IO again, with the opportunity to go in-depth with Googlers, and Google Developer Experts it was great to meet more members of the community t discuss how we can create greater connections, help support our communities by delivering and hosting events that inform, educate and empower them to learn and innovate.
Roundtable Discussions
The roundtable discussions with the various developer organizers were a definite highlight ā everyone was excited to contribute ideas to improve the current programs and we were able to have some fruitful discussions on cross-collaborations and ways to increase the resiliency of existing and upcoming programs.
IO Connect Deep Dive
The IO Connect event was also very informative ā I was able to participate in various discussions 1:1 with Googlers to learn about topics such as Open Source, Accessibility, and Google Cloud. In my discussions, I was able to learn more about their career journeys, what they do, and how to get involved and organize events in my community around these topics.
There were numerous panels that took part at the same time, and everyone was able to go to talks that interested them.
Taking It Back to the Community
After the event, I was excited to organize my IO Extended event and share the latest developer news with the community. The event I organized had over 70 RSVPs and around half of them attended my event live on a Thursday evening! I will be uploading the event online so people will be able to explore the google IO updates as well.
Google IO Connect Banner 2023
Picture from Flutter talk, Google IO Connect 2023, in Miami Florida
There were many opportunities to meet with Googlers to learn more about their work on various google technologies, tools and frameworks!