Announcing the top three winners of this year's GDSC Solution Challenge, as well as the people’s choice award.
The Google Carbon Removals Research Awards is a new initiative to support and accelerate exploration into promising tools for delivering carbon removals at a global scal…
In 2006, engineering grad student Tara Chklovski looked around at her classroom and realized how few women and people of color were in the room. Determined to change that, Tara launched Technovation, and this year, Google is celebrating over a decade of support.
In 2010, we brought the first group of 45 girls to Google’s Mountain View cafe to learn from Google mentors how to build and bring apps to market through Technovation Girls, a program that prepares girls for tech entrepreneurship and leadership.
The first Technovation Challenge season was conducted in-person, with Google mentors helping the group to learn how to build apps using MIT App Inventor. In the decade since, Google has continued to support Technovation, both through groups of dedicated volunteers, as well as through funding. In 2017, Google hosted Technovation's World Summit, and along the way has helped Technovation reach 350,000 people across 100 countries. The collaboration also allowed Technovation’s AI education program to empower 20,000 children and parents to identify problems in their communities and develop AI-based solutions.
Through Google.org, we support organizations using technology and innovation to help more students, particularly those who have been historically underserved, get a better education. Since 2013, we’ve given more than $80 million to organizations around the globe focused on closing the computer science education access gap. And we recently shared resources to help nonprofits like Technovation that are working to close the gender gap in CS education.
To date, Google’s investment in Technovation programming totals nearly $2 million, and more than 50 Technovation alumni have worked at Google campuses around the world. Those alumnae include women like Padmapriya in India, Dalia in Palestine, Jenny and Emma in the United States, and Adelina in Moldova, who graciously agreed to share their stories about participating in Technovation.
The current Technovation Girls season is now open—if you know a girl who's ready to change the world, let her know about Technovation and encourage her to sign up. And if you want to support girls taking their first steps as technology creators and entrepreneurs, learn more about participating as a mentor or a judge. There are thousands of girls like Padmapriya, Dalia, Adelina, Emma, and Jenny who are just getting started and could use your encouragement!
For many of the challenges our world faces — like access to healthcare and climate change — technology will be part of the solution. For those solutions to affect change, the technologists behind them should be reflective of everyone. However, in the U.S. today 26% of computing professionals are women, 8% are Hispanic and 9% are Black.
Access to education is at the root of this inequity. Girls, historically underrepresented groups and students from small and rural towns are less likely to have the opportunity to build interest and confidence in computer science and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skills. To help make sure every student has the chance to build confidence and interest in computer science, 4-H, an organization working to give all youth equal access to opportunity, with Google.org support, created the Computer Science Pathway. This program teaches technical subjects — like data analytics and robotics — and equips students with essential life skills — like problem-solving and leadership.
In 2019, 4-H and Google.org set a goal that with Google.org’s support, 4-H would introduce one million students to computer science within three years. Members of our own Code with Google team assisted the National 4-H Council and local 4-H chapter leaders to pilot, train and iterate for several months to help establish the foundations of the Computer Science Pathway program. Fast forward to now, just two years later, and 4-H has already reached over 1.4 million students. Of those 1.4 million, 47% are from historically underrepresented groups in computer science, 65% live in rural areas and 56% of teen leaders for the program are girls.
These numbers represent real kids finding their voice, discovering a brighter future and realizing their dreams.
Throughout this journey, the 4-H team brought together nonprofits, businesses, community leaders and schools to create an inclusive and impactful computer science program for all ages across 50 states. For others looking to create computer science programs, here are a few things 4-H learned to help each and every student achieve their potential.
As a 4-H alum myself, I’m proud to celebrate this incredible milestone and achievement toward equitable education and opportunities. We believe that the Computer Science Pathway, and the 4-H team’s thoughtful evaluation and collected learnings, will help make the future brighter — not just for the students who participate, but for their communities and the world as a whole. As we face global challenges, we’ll need the best and brightest out there solving them.
Jobs in the computing field are expected to grow by 13 percent between 2016 and 2026, a rate that's faster than the average growth rate for all occupations. But the latest research shows that not all K-12 students have the same access to, or perceptions of, computer science (CS) education—especially girls and Black students. COVID-19 has only exacerbated existing gaps, underscoring the need for more creative solutions to ensure all students receive the education they deserve today to succeed tomorrow, according to additional research.
To better understand these gaps and where we can focus on finding solutions, we’re continuing our funding support of Gallup’s comprehensive, multi-year research on the K-12 computer science education landscape. Today, we’re releasing Gallup’s latest findings, “Current Perspectives and Continuing Challenges in Computer Science Education in US K-12 Schools.” This report represents Gallup’s analysis of over 7,000 interviews with U.S. educators, parents, administrators and students. It is accompanied by four supplemental reports highlighting equity gaps among different segments of the population, including Black, female, Hispanic and rural students.
The research uncovered four key themes:
1. There are still gaps in access to computer science education between Black, Hispanic and white students.
Consistent with the 2016 study, in 2020, Gallup found only 46 percent of Black students and 46 percent of Hispanic students indicate that they have classes dedicated to computer science at their high school, compared to 52 percent of white students.
2. There’s still a significant gender gap, too.
Seventy-three percent of boys say they are confident they can learn computer science, compared with 60 percent of girls, a gender gap similar to the one observed in 2016.
3. Computer science is a top priority for superintendents, but that same prioritization hasn’t made it to the classroom yet.
In 2020’s report, nearly six in 10 superintendents (58 percent) agree that computer science is currently a top priority in their districts. However, there appears to be a disconnect between administrators and teachers and principals, because just 18 percent of public school teachers and 28 percent of principals say computer science education is treated as a top priority at their schools.
4. Students are generally unconvinced that computer science is important for them to learn.
Female students are particularly skeptical about the importance of learning computer science education, with just 31 percent of them saying CS is important for them to learn, compared with 49 percent of male students.
Interventions from parents, educators, community leaders, policymakers, nonprofits and the technology industry are needed to encourage girls, Black students and Hispanic students to take computer science courses and ensure that when that interest exists, it’s matched with high quality learning opportunities. These students also need to be shown how CS knowledge can help them meet their goals in a variety of fields including the humanities, medicine and the arts.
With over $80 million in funding from Google.org, and a variety of programs as part of Code with Google, we are committed to closing equity gaps in CS education. For example, Code Next is a free computer science education program that meets Black and Latino high school students in their own communities, and Grasshopper is an app-based program for coding beginners to learn Javascript skills directly from their mobile phones and browsers. As part of our Google.org funding, we also gave a $3 million grant to The Kapor Center to establish the Equitable Computer Science Curriculum initiative. This effort brings together leaders in education equity, inclusive teaching practices and CS education, along with teachers and students to improve CS curricula and resources to increase racial and gender equity in CS classrooms.
No organization can increase access or improve perceptions of computer science education alone. We’re enthusiastic about all the work from nonprofits who have developed and share culturally-relevant learning resources, educators who support all of their students with skills they need to succeed, technology companies who have dedicated resources and governments who have created new policies to address CS learning gaps over the past five years. But we at Google believe there’s more work to be done in this complex field, and we hope publishing these reports helps the entire education community continue to advocate for and support underserved students. All of this research is fully accessible and for use in presentations.
Join us for a virtual panel discussionon September 30, 12 p.m. Pacific/ 3 p.m. Eastern as we discuss the report’s key takeaways with Stephanie Marken, Gallup’s Executive Director of Education Research, and Dr. Alexis Martin, the Director of Research Partnerships at Kapor Center.
I got into coding through classical music. When I studied it in college, I worked with a researcher who found a way to represent the notation of a large number of musical works digitally. I learned to code by doing various analyses to find patterns that automatically identified specific composers. These programs could distinguish between a Haydn and a Mozart piano sonata, which many musicians can’t even do. Once I saw the power of this skill, I had to learn more! I started taking some computer science (CS) classes, and ended up changing direction entirely from music to CS.
Now, as a VP in Engineering at Google, I work to close the gaps that exist in CS education and access (only 40% of U.S. schools offer CS classes and many kids from underrepresented backgrounds still don’t feel that CS is for them). To combat that, we’ve created programs like CS First and Made With Code that expose kids to computer science and computational thinking at an early age (rather than discovering it later in life like I did), and help them develop those critical skills. And once a year, we rally around Computer Science Education Week, a celebration to inspire students and educators to get excited about where CS can take them (hint: anywhere) and take that first step in learning to code. Since CSEdWeek started back in 2013, we’ve been a proud partner, reaching more than 15 million students and supporting 35,000+ events each year.
Our support continues this year, and we’re doing a lot to celebrate. Today’s homepage features the first-ever interactive coding-themed Doodle for kids, called “Coding for Carrots.” Anyone can try it out by using a simple programming language to solve puzzles. The code continues with an activity from CS First that lets you make your own custom Google logo, or you can try a holiday-themed emoji project from Made with Code.
I hope these activities help kids realize that it’s easy to give coding a try, because so many things in world—from a movie to an amusement park ride—started with code. I wrote about this in a StoryWeaver story called “Coding is Everywhere,” illustrated by my fellow Googler Ma'ayan Rosenzweig. If more kids learned how to code, think about how many cool things we could build!
I found my own passion for coding when I least expected it. This CSEdWeek, try coding for carrots, create your own Google logo or even a holiday emoji. You might discover how exciting coding can be for you.
I got into coding through classical music. When I studied it in college, I worked with a researcher who found a way to represent the notation of a large number of musical works digitally. I learned to code by doing various analyses to find patterns that automatically identified specific composers. These programs could distinguish between a Haydn and a Mozart piano sonata, which many musicians can’t even do. Once I saw the power of this skill, I had to learn more! I started taking some computer science (CS) classes, and ended up changing direction entirely from music to CS.
Now, as a VP in Engineering at Google, I work to close the gaps that exist in CS education and access (only 40% of U.S. schools offer CS classes and many kids from underrepresented backgrounds still don’t feel that CS is for them). To combat that, we’ve created programs like CS First and Made With Code that expose kids to computer science and computational thinking at an early age (rather than discovering it later in life like I did), and help them develop those critical skills. And once a year, we rally around Computer Science Education Week, a celebration to inspire students and educators to get excited about where CS can take them (hint: anywhere) and take that first step in learning to code. Since CSEdWeek started back in 2013, we’ve been a proud partner, reaching more than 15 million students and supporting 35,000+ events each year.
Our support continues this year, and we’re doing a lot to celebrate. Today’s homepage features the first-ever interactive coding-themed Doodle for kids, called “Coding for Carrots.” Anyone can try it out by using a simple programming language to solve puzzles. The code continues with an activity from CS First that lets you make your own custom Google logo, or you can try a holiday-themed emoji project from Made with Code.
I hope these activities help kids realize that it’s easy to give coding a try, because so many things in world—from a movie to an amusement park ride—started with code. I wrote about this in a StoryWeaver story called “Coding is Everywhere,” illustrated by my fellow Googler Ma'ayan Rosenzweig. If more kids learned how to code, think about how many cool things we could build!
I found my own passion for coding when I least expected it. This CSEdWeek, try coding for carrots, create your own Google logo or even a holiday emoji. You might discover how exciting coding can be for you.
I got into coding through classical music. When I studied it in college, I worked with a researcher who found a way to represent the notation of a large number of musical works digitally. I learned to code by doing various analyses to find patterns that automatically identified specific composers. These programs could distinguish between a Haydn and a Mozart piano sonata, which many musicians can’t even do. Once I saw the power of this skill, I had to learn more! I started taking some computer science (CS) classes, and ended up changing direction entirely from music to CS.
Now, as a VP in Engineering at Google, I work to close the gaps that exist in CS education and access (only 40% of U.S. schools offer CS classes and many kids from underrepresented backgrounds still don’t feel that CS is for them). To combat that, we’ve created programs like CS First and Made With Code that expose kids to computer science and computational thinking at an early age (rather than discovering it later in life like I did), and help them develop those critical skills. And once a year, we rally around Computer Science Education Week, a celebration to inspire students and educators to get excited about where CS can take them (hint: anywhere) and take that first step in learning to code. Since CSEdWeek started back in 2013, we’ve been a proud partner, reaching more than 15 million students and supporting 35,000+ events each year.
Our support continues this year, and we’re doing a lot to celebrate. Today’s homepage features the first-ever interactive coding-themed Doodle, called “Coding for Carrots.” Anyone can try it out by using a simple programming language to solve puzzles. The code continues with an activity from CS First that lets you make your own custom Google logo, or you can try a holiday-themed emoji project from Made with Code.
I hope these activities help kids realize that it’s easy to give coding a try, because so many things in world—from a movie to an amusement park ride—started with code. I wrote about this in a StoryWeaver story called “Coding is Everywhere,” illustrated by my fellow Googler Ma'ayan Rosenzweig. If more kids learned how to code, think about how many cool things we could build!
I found my own passion for coding when I least expected it. This CSEdWeek, try coding for carrots, create your own Google logo or even a holiday emoji. You might discover how exciting coding can be for you.
“Programming opens new horizons. It gives me full space to [create things] I couldn’t even imagine.” These are the words of Diana Zhanakbayeva, a young woman from Kazakhstan who, along with three classmates, just took home the top prize at an international coding challenge.
Great ideas can come from anywhere and from anyone. That’s what’s behind the 2017 Technovation Challenge, run by nonprofit Iridescent, announced last fall in partnership with Google’s Made with Code and UN Women to offer young women from around the world the chance to code an app that solves a real-world challenge. More than 11,000 girls from 103 countries formed teams to address issues in those categories: peace, poverty, environment, equality, education, and health. This week, the finalists traveled to Google’s headquarters in Mountain View to pitch their ideas to a panel of tech leaders and other experts. And tonight, in front of 900+ supporters, educators, mentors and past participants, the four girls behind a safety app called QamCare were crowned the winner of the Senior Division.
To girls around the world who participated in the Challenge, or who are considering a career in computer science, or any field: we believe you should be encouraged and empowered to become the coders, entrepreneurs and inventors that shape the world around you. We will never stop working to create an industry and environment in which women feel welcome and can thrive.
Meet the girls behind QamCare, and the other finalist teams:
Aruzhan Koshkarova, Azhar Sultansikh, Dianna Zhanakbayeva, Diyara Beisenbekova
“QamCare” comes from the Kazakh word-Qamqor, which stands for care and support. The team behind this winning app describes it as a “potential life-saving tool,” which can be used in case of emergency to provide your location information to your contacts. With the press of a button, you can alert trusted friends and family via SMS. Azhar Sultansikh says the app is designed to give people “peace of mind.”
QamCare’s creators describe a number of other hobbies and interests beyond CS: Diana Zhanakbayeva has dabbled in fashion and creating YouTube videos; Aruzhan Koshkarova says she used the cognitive skills learned from playing chess to work in programming; Azhar’s first loyalty is to art; and Diyara Beisenbekova is interested in medicine and chemistry. But all share a motivation to keep learning—and making a difference. Aruzhan says that the team was inspired to participate in the Challenge to “make change in [her] community” and for “women’s empowerment”—hoping to blaze the trail for more young Kazakh women to participate in science and tech.
Aghavni Hakobyan, Sona Avetisyan, Svetlana Davtyan, Violeta Mkrtchyan, Vardanush Nazaretyan
When a deaf classmate visited their school, this team of five girls from Karbi, Armenia, came up with the idea for an app to help people learn Armenian Sign Language using videos of sign gestures. The One Step Ahead team demonstrates how experiences like Technovation can inspire young people to pursue a wide variety of career paths. While Aghavni Hakobyan, 17, says that the program inspired her to want to become a programmer, her teammate Sona Avetisyan, 16, wants to become a doctor to “help with hearing loss problems and help people communicate.”
Aamanat Kang, Anoushka Bhalla, Mehak Joshi, Priyaja Bakshi, Vanshika Baijal
The PregCare team, in India, created an app that provides pregnant women, especially those in rural areas, with healthcare information, even offering alerts for appointments; it also connects women with donors and other organizations. Aamanat Kang says of the challenge, “The interesting part of technology is its ability to change and evolve in the blink of an eye. What keeps me hooked on to computers is that we do not know what to expect in the world of technology tomorrow or 10 years from now.“
Aida Khamiyeva Ardakkyzy, Arlana Yessenbayeva, Askar Zhibek Askarkyzy, Diana Zhanakbayeva
In Almaty, Kazakhstan, a city of more than 1.5 million people, only 2 percent of waste is recycled, with the remaining 98 percent going to landfills. The four girls behind Go WaCo (short for “Go, Waste Conscious”) wanted to come up with a way to encourage people to recycle, so they created an app that challenges students from different schools to participate in recycling competitions and compete for rewards. Arlana Yessenbayeva, 16, says of the project: “Go WaCo is my first big step in changing this world for the better. In the future I want to connect people, inspire them to invent, share, and solve the world's problems.”
Ivy Akinyi, Macrine Akinyi, Purity Achieng, Stacy Dina Owino, Cynthia Awuor
Female genital mutilation (FGM) has been banned in Kenya since 2011, but in many areas of the country it continues to be practiced. The iCut app is designed to provide a platform for people to report cases of FGM, as well as for victims to seek help. Several of the girls behind iCut described how coding helped them discover new kinds of potential: Stacy Dina, 17, says “When my mentor ... introduced programming to us, I was elated. [I] felt empowered.“ Synthia Awuor, 17, adds: “Joining [Technovation] opened my eyes to a whole new world.”
Jigisha Kamal, Krithika Sunil, Rida Shafeek
Our second team from India designed an Android app that lets donors fulfill “wishes” for underserved children. Nonprofits or charitable trusts who work on children’s issues can upload three wishes for each child, which donors can select from to provide the amount quoted for each gift. The idea is to “bring a little joy into [children’s] everyday lives through donations in the form of gifts,” as Jigisha Kamal puts it. Rida Shafeek, 17, says of their app, “It was a chance to make a change… to provide opportunities to underprivileged kids to embrace every bit of their childhood and to provide a door to a better future.”
The projects we saw this week demonstrate that code is a potent tool to create change—and show that there is a generation of young people eager to wield it. We’re inspired by the energy and enthusiasm we saw at the Technovation Challenge—and excited to continue to help more future leaders make a difference through technology.
“Programming opens new horizons. It gives me full space to [create things] I couldn’t even imagine.” These are the words of Diana Zhanakbayeva, a young woman from Kazakhstan who, along with three classmates, just took home the top prize at an international coding challenge.
Great ideas can come from anywhere and from anyone. That’s what’s behind the 2017 Technovation Challenge, run by nonprofit Iridescent, announced last fall in partnership with Google’s Made with Code and UN Women to offer young women from around the world the chance to code an app that solves a real-world challenge. More than 11,000 girls from 103 countries formed teams to address issues in those categories: peace, poverty, environment, equality, education, and health. This week, the finalists traveled to Google’s headquarters in Mountain View to pitch their ideas to a panel of tech leaders and other experts. And tonight, in front of 900+ supporters, educators, mentors and past participants, the four girls behind a safety app called QamCare were crowned the winner of the Senior Division.
To girls around the world who participated in the Challenge, or who are considering a career in computer science, or any field: we believe you should be encouraged and empowered to become the coders, entrepreneurs and inventors that shape the world around you. We will never stop working to create an industry and environment in which women feel welcome and can thrive.
Meet the girls behind QamCare, and the other finalist teams:
Aruzhan Koshkarova, Azhar Sultansikh, Dianna Zhanakbayeva, Diyara Beisenbekova
“QamCare” comes from the Kazakh word-Qamqor, which stands for care and support. The team behind this winning app describes it as a “potential life-saving tool,” which can be used in case of emergency to provide your location information to your contacts. With the press of a button, you can alert trusted friends and family via SMS. Azhar Sultansikh says the app is designed to give people “peace of mind.”
QamCare’s creators describe a number of other hobbies and interests beyond CS: Diana Zhanakbayeva has dabbled in fashion and creating YouTube videos; Aruzhan Koshkarova says she used the cognitive skills learned from playing chess to work in programming; Azhar’s first loyalty is to art; and Diyara Beisenbekova is interested in medicine and chemistry. But all share a motivation to keep learning—and making a difference. Aruzhan says that the team was inspired to participate in the Challenge to “make change in [her] community” and for “women’s empowerment”—hoping to blaze the trail for more young Kazakh women to participate in science and tech.
Aghavni Hakobyan, Sona Avetisyan, Svetlana Davtyan, Violeta Mkrtchyan, Vardanush Nazaretyan
When a deaf classmate visited their school, this team of five girls from Karbi, Armenia, came up with the idea for an app to help people learn Armenian Sign Language using videos of sign gestures. The One Step Ahead team demonstrates how experiences like Technovation can inspire young people to pursue a wide variety of career paths. While Aghavni Hakobyan, 17, says that the program inspired her to want to become a programmer, her teammate Sona Avetisyan, 16, wants to become a doctor to “help with hearing loss problems and help people communicate.”
Aamanat Kang, Anoushka Bhalla, Mehak Joshi, Priyaja Bakshi, Vanshika Baijal
The PregCare team, in India, created an app that provides pregnant women, especially those in rural areas, with healthcare information, even offering alerts for appointments; it also connects women with donors and other organizations. Aamanat Kang says of the challenge, “The interesting part of technology is its ability to change and evolve in the blink of an eye. What keeps me hooked on to computers is that we do not know what to expect in the world of technology tomorrow or 10 years from now.“
Aida Khamiyeva Ardakkyzy, Arlana Yessenbayeva, Askar Zhibek Askarkyzy, Diana Zhanakbayeva
In Almaty, Kazakhstan, a city of more than 1.5 million people, only 2 percent of waste is recycled, with the remaining 98 percent going to landfills. The four girls behind Go WaCo (short for “Go, Waste Conscious”) wanted to come up with a way to encourage people to recycle, so they created an app that challenges students from different schools to participate in recycling competitions and compete for rewards. Arlana Yessenbayeva, 16, says of the project: “Go WaCo is my first big step in changing this world for the better. In the future I want to connect people, inspire them to invent, share, and solve the world's problems.”
Ivy Akinyi, Macrine Akinyi, Purity Achieng, Stacy Dina Owino, Cynthia Awuor
Female genital mutilation (FGM) has been banned in Kenya since 2011, but in many areas of the country it continues to be practiced. The iCut app is designed to provide a platform for people to report cases of FGM, as well as for victims to seek help. Several of the girls behind iCut described how coding helped them discover new kinds of potential: Stacy Dina, 17, says “When my mentor ... introduced programming to us, I was elated. [I] felt empowered.“ Synthia Awuor, 17, adds: “Joining [Technovation] opened my eyes to a whole new world.”
Jigisha Kamal, Krithika Sunil, Rida Shafeek
Our second team from India designed an Android app that lets donors fulfill “wishes” for underserved children. Nonprofits or charitable trusts who work on children’s issues can upload three wishes for each child, which donors can select from to provide the amount quoted for each gift. The idea is to “bring a little joy into [children’s] everyday lives through donations in the form of gifts,” as Jigisha Kamal puts it. Rida Shafeek, 17, says of their app, “It was a chance to make a change… to provide opportunities to underprivileged kids to embrace every bit of their childhood and to provide a door to a better future.”
The projects we saw this week demonstrate that code is a potent tool to create change—and show that there is a generation of young people eager to wield it. We’re inspired by the energy and enthusiasm we saw at the Technovation Challenge—and excited to continue to help more future leaders make a difference through technology.
