Tag Archives: University

New curriculum for educators to teach Android app development

Posted by Kat Kuan, Developer Advocate, Android

We strive to make Android development content accessible to all, so that anyone can become an Android developer. Over the years, millions of students at all different levels have consumed our learning content and worked through courses and codelabs to advance their skills. We continue to update and release new content as the ever-changing industry continues to evolve.

As demand for skilled Android developers increases in the job marketplace, there is an even greater need for educators to train the next generation of Android developers. That is why we created these resources to help support and empower educators.

New Android Development with Kotlin instructor-led curriculum

Today we’re announcing the launch of our new instructor-led curriculum for Android Development with Kotlin. This is for classroom learning (virtual or in-person) with an instructor delivering lectures on important Android concepts, and students receiving hands-on practice through codelabs. The official course materials are now available and can be freely modified by instructors to adapt to their students’ needs.

This is a major update to the curriculum we released in 2018. The updates account for the most recent changes in the Android platform, from the release of the Android Jetpack libraries to Android development becoming Kotlin-first. The Kotlin programming language helps developers become more productive with more concise syntax and improved code safety. Over 60% of professional Android developers already use Kotlin, and it’s Google’s recommended programming language for new developers building Android apps. While instructors do not need Android or Kotlin experience to teach the curriculum, prior programming experience is recommended.

We’ve partnered with universities and skilling partners in India such as Shivaji University, I. K. Gujral Punjab Technical University, Chandigarh University, Ganpat University, Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge (TASK), and Information and Communication Technology Academy of Kerala, who will be some of the first to offer this curriculum to their students in the Spring, with more universities to follow in the Fall and coming semesters. With the curriculum now available publicly, educators are welcome to start teaching Android development.

“As it’s mostly a hands-on course, students learn implementations which helps them in their placements in Mobile app companies.” -Dr. Kavita S. Oza, Shivaji University

Android Study Jams content now available for all developers

Outside a formal classroom, learning in a peer group has also been shown as an effective way to learn Android. That is why we’re also making the Android Study Jams program available to all developers today. Android Study Jams enables a group of people to come together and learn Android development through hands-on codelabs in an online curriculum. An instructor is not needed to deliver lectures, but it is recommended to have a facilitator to organize the group meetings. No programming experience is needed to get started. Over 38,000 students in Google Developer Student Clubs around the globe have already participated in this program.

“Introducing people to Kotlin and being by their side at this first step which could touch their lives created great happiness and excitement for us.” - Ceren Tunay and Serkan Alc, Developer Student Club Turkey

With many paths to learning, it is always interesting to see the different journeys of students who become Android developers, and exciting to see the resulting personal success, innovative apps, and entrepreneurial pursuits they have. The following video highlights two developers and how learning Android development has shaped their careers.

For more details on these new offerings, check out the Android Development Resources for Educators.

For independent learners, we also offer self-paced learning content, Udacity courses and Nanodegrees, YouTube videos, and more resources on developer.android.com. Keep us posted on how your learning journey goes!

Innovate with Google at the 2018 China-US Young Maker Competition!

Posted by Aimin Zhu, University Relations Manager, Google China

Following the announcement of the 2018 China-U.S. Young Maker Competition, we are very excited that there are already over 1000 participants with over a month left before the final submission deadline! Project submissions are open to all makers, developers, and students age 18-40 in the United States. Check out the projects others are developing on the project submissions page.

Participants may choose to develop their projects using any platform. Makers and students in the US are encouraged to consider the many Google technologies and platforms available to build innovative solutions:

The project submission deadline is June 22, so there is still plenty of time to join the competition! If you have additional questions about the competition or the project submission process, please visit the contest FAQ.

The top 10 projects selected by the judges will win an all-expenses-paid trip to Beijing, China, to join the finals with Chinese makers on August 13-17. We look forward to meeting you at the final event!

For more details, please see US divitional contest landing page hosted by Hackster.io.

Showcase your innovations at the 2018 China-US Young Makers Competition

Posted by Bill Luan, Senior Program Manager & Greater China Regional Lead, Developer Relations

The 2018 China-U.S. Young Maker Competition launched this week by the event co-organizer Hackster.IO. Project submissions are now open to all makers, developers, and students ages 18-40 in both China and the United States. Google is the corporate sponsor for this year's competition.

Since 2014, this competition has been running annually in supporting the U.S.-China High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange program. The competition encourages makers in both countries to create innovative products focusing on community development, education, environmental protection, health & fitness, energy, transportation and sustainable development.

Participants have the freedom to choose appropriate technologies to enable their innovations, and we encourage makers to consider open source technologies, such as TensorFlow and AIY Projects for artificial intelligence use cases, Android Studio for mobile applications, as well as Android Things for IoT solutions.

The top 10 projects in the U.S. will win an all-expenses-paid trip to Beijing, to compete against Chinese makers on August 13-17 for the chance at $30,000 in prizes. Further, there are 35 additional chances to win Google prizes! So join the competition, and let your innovation shine on the global stage!

For more details, please see the event announcement on Hackster.IO.

Announcing Google Cloud Platform Education Grants for computer science

Posted by Bram Bout, Director, Google for Education

While university students are on their summer holidays, internships or jobs, their professors are already hard at work planning for fall courses. These course maps will be at the center of student learning, research and academic growth. Google was founded on the basis of the work that Larry and Sergey did as computer science students at Stanford, and we understand the critical role that teachers play in fostering and inspiring the innovation we see today and will see in the years to come. That’s why we’re excited to offer Google Cloud Platform Education Grants for computer science.

Starting today, university faculty in the United States who teach courses in computer science or related subjects can apply for free credits for their students to use across the full suite of Google Cloud Platform tools, like App Engine and the Cloud Machine Learning Platform. These credits can be used any time during the 2016-17 academic year and give students access to the same tools and infrastructure used by Google engineers.
Students like Duke University undergrad Brittany Wenger are already taking advantage of cloud computing. After watching several women in her family suffer from breast cancer, Brittany used her knowledge of artificial intelligence to create Cloud4Cancer, an artificial neural network built on top of Google App Engine. By analyzing uploaded scans of benign and malignant breast cancer tumors, Cloud4Cancer has learned to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy tissue. It’s providing health care professionals with a powerful diagnostic tool in the fight against cancer.

Google Cloud Platform offers a range of tools and services that are unique among cloud providers. The tool that Brittany used -- Google App Engine -- lets you simply build and run an application without having to configure custom infrastructure. Our Machine Learning platform allows you to build models for any type of data, at any size, and TensorFlow provides access to an open-source public software library (tinker with that extensive data here). Students will also be able to get their hands on one of Cloud Platform’s most popular new innovations: the Cloud Vision API, which allows you to incorporate Google’s state-of-the-art image recognition capabilities into the most basic web or mobile app.

We look forward to seeing the creative ways that computer science students will use their Google Cloud Platform Education Grants, and will share stories along the way on this blog.

Computer science faculty in the United States can apply here for Education Grants. Students and others interested in Cloud Platform for Higher Education, should complete this form to register and stay up to date with the latest from Cloud Platform. For more information on Cloud Platform and its uses for higher education, visit our Google Cloud Platform for Higher Education site.