Author Archives: bechikson

Google Summer of Code 2015 and Google Code-in 2014 are on!

A call to all students in Europe: if you have ever thought it would be cool to write code, then please keep reading. We're excited to announce the next editions of two programs designed to introduce students to open source software development, Google Summer of Code for university students and Google Code-in for 13-17 year old high schoolers.


Google Code-in

Google Code-in is an international, online contest designed to introduce  pre-university students to the world of open source development. When you read the term open source, do you think:
  • What is open source?
  • What types of work do open source projects do?
  • I’ve only taken one computer science class, can I contribute to an open source project?
  • I’m not really into coding, how else can I contribute to open source?
  • I’ve never participated in open source or an online contest before, can someone help guide me?
  • Open source sounds fun, how can I get started?
If you’re a high schooler and you've wondered about any of these questions, then we hope you will join in the fun and excitement. Over the past four years, we have had 1,575 students from 78 countries in the contest. This year we hope to surpass 2,000 students.

Visit the Frequently Asked Questions page on the Google Code-in site for details on how to sign up and participate. We will announce the open source organizations that will be participating in the contest on November 12. The Code-in contest starts on December 1.

Google Summer of Code

Google Summer of Code offers student developers summer stipends to write code for various open source projects.  Over the past 10 years, over 8,300 mentors and 8,500 student developers in 101 countries have produced a stunning 55 million lines of code.

If you know of a university student that would be interested in working on open source projects this summer, or if you know of an organization that might want to mentor students to work on their open source projects, please direct them to our Google Summer of Code 2015 website. Stay tuned for more details!

Posted by Stephanie Taylor and Carol Smith, Open Source Programs

Sharing spectrum at the ZSL London Zoo

Live video of meerkats, Asian otters and giant Galapagos tortoises from the world’s oldest zoo are coming to YouTube. The world loves to watch cute animal videos. This time, it’s also worth looking at the technology behind the videos.

Today, Google and ZSL London Zoo, opened on April 28, 1827, are launching a trial to test an innovative way of sharing spectrum to power these live video feeds. MediaTek and 6Harmonics are supplying the Wi-Fi equipment and devices being using during the trial.



Radio spectrum is a scarce resource. It is required every time we make a mobile phone call, use Wi-Fi, or listen to the radio. Spectrum is divided into different frequency bands to avoid interference between, say, a radio station and a mobile phone call. As more people go online and the number of wireless devices grows, so does the demand for spectrum.

Within the spectrum used for broadcast TV, there are unused parts which are commonly known as ‘TV White Spaces’ (or TVWS for short). This spectrum is helpful because it can travel longer distances and through physical barriers, providing wireless connectivity in places where other technology can’t — including the centre of one of the busiest cities in the world, in spots where the zoo would have normally needed a wired connection.

Because spectrum is scarce, policymakers and technology companies have been working on guidelines to help allow the shared use of White Spaces. Sharing spectrum in this way could open up many new opportunities for wireless innovation.

The UK is quickly becoming a pioneer of spectrum sharing, thanks to favorable regulation from Ofcom, which is responsible for managing spectrum. This is the first time that Google’s spectrum database is being used in the UK after being certified last year in the US. The database ensures that TVWS can be shared by multiple users without interference — one of the top goals of this trial. These contributions, in addition to the use of new devices that use standard Wi-Fi protocols, show that TVWS technology is gaining momentum around the world.

After testing the technology, the London Zoo is exploring other ways it can use TVWS to help monitor and protect endangered animals in the wild. Last year, the zoo won a Google Global Impact Award to help develop the Instant Wild system, which uses satellite cameras to provide instant alerts to rangers to help tackle the poaching of rhinos and elephants. We’re delighted that this trial can help power such innovations, bringing wireless connectivity to places where other options won’t work.

Posted by Theo Bertram, European Policy Strategy Team

Supporting Europe Code Week

The European Commission estimates that more than 900,000 high tech jobs will go unfilled in 2020. While digital competency is one of the most important prerequisites for getting a job, too few students are studying computing. We want to help fill this gap. In order to encourage more school age students to learn about computing, we’re participating in the European Commission initiative, Europe Code Week, which takes place Oct 11-17.



We’re providing small grants to organizations who are running events in nearly a dozen countries, from Spain to Slovenia. In Sevilla, Programamos is going to teach 100 students to code. In Athens, we’re supporting coding workshops for underprivileged girls with Greek Geekettes. Other innovative projects range from Atelier-Gouter du Code, which is bringing coding workshops to students in underprivileged areas of Marseilles, France, to Python for Everyone through the University of Ljubljana.



An important priority in this year’s event is encouraging girls to explore computer science. We are coordinating Hangouts on Air interviews, hosting female Google engineers from across the continent to show children, especially girls, role models in the tech field. Tune in to +Europe Code Week’s Google+ Page.

Click on Code Week’s events page to see all the different opportunities to participate in this celebration of computer science.

Posted by Marielena Ivory, Pre-university Education Specialist, Europe

Join the European Health Parliament

Want to help reinvent health care? Join us in a new European Health Parliament. Together with Janssen pharmaceutical company, the European Voice, and the College of Europee, we will bring together 80 young professionals in Brussels between November 2014 and June 2015 to look at the opportunities offered by the new digital world to improve medical care and policy. Apply now at www.healthparliament.eu

The Internet promises to bring exciting change to medicine and fitness. At Google, for example, we’re working on cutting edge projects such as a “smart” contact glass, complete with a minaturized wireless chip connected to the Internet, to measure glucose levels for diabetics. While such innovations offer the tantalizing prospect of improving care and building longer, healthier lives, they often also raise difficult questions about privacy and other public policy matters.



Over the course of the next six months, members of the European Health Parliament will meet in Brussels with politicians, experts and opinion leaders. At the end of the process, they will co-author a prestigious publication on the future of healthcare in the Internet era.

Eligibility

AGE: below 35 (Born after 1/1/1979)
EDUCATION: University graduate
AVAILABILITY: Participation will be required in four plenary sessions and several committee meetings in Brussels. Unfortunately, transportation costs will not be reimbursed.
WORKING LANGUAGE: Fluent spoken and written English.
ATTITUDE: Enthusiastic, creative, pro-active, curious and eager to improve the face of future healthcare;

No prior expertise in healthcare is required.

Application Process

The application deadline is October 20, 2014. A jury of professionals from the College of Europe, Janssen, European Voice and Google will choose the successful "parliamentarians."

Before applying, please be sure that you can attend the plenary sessions:
November 21, 2014 (Opening Session)
February 27, 2015
April 5, 2015
June 17, 2015 (Closing Session)

Apply. You can change the face of European health care.

Posted by Catherine Williams, Public Policy analyst, Brussels

Street View reaches new heights

Street View cars, Trekkers and trikes are always striving to unveil new informative and entertaining views of the world, making Google Maps more useful and comprehensive. In recent weeks, we have launched two exciting European projects — one in Switzerland, the other in Russia — which literally take the images to a new velocity and a new height!
StreetView Trekker climbs the Swiss Alps
Together with the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) and the Swiss Tourism Board (MySwitzerland.com), we launched a contest called “Queen of the Alps.” High in the Swiss Alps, far from any road or other buildings, are picturesque huts used to spend a night by farmers and vacationers.

It often takes a full day hike to reach these out of the way huts. We ran online vote to find the favorite Swiss hut, promising to film the choice for Street View. The Swiss Alpine Club’s Lauteraarhütte-SAC in the canton of Berne (region “Grimselgebiet”) won. It took our Trekkers a five hour hike up the Grimsels Hospiz to capture this exciting imagery.

The interior of the winning alpine hut
In Russia, the site of our Street View shoot was much more accessible but just as exciting - the Winter Olympic venues in Sochi. Stroll around the Fischt stadium which hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. Walk on the Ice Palace "Iceberg" and visit the Olympic Village, where your favorite team stayed.

In particular, take a look at the new Formula 1 track in Sochi. It is located in the city’s Olympic Park and is the only Formula 1 track in Russia. From October 10-12, Russia will host its first World Championship race.

The new Sochi Formula 1 Track on StreetView
Before the event, we thought it would be cool for racing fans to test out the new track. The new Street View imagery allows anyone, anywhere to preview the route. Take a spin.

Posted by Marta Nowak-Przygodzka, Street View team

Seizing the digital opportunity in France

All too often, fast-moving, disruptive digital innovation is presented as the enemy of Europe’s enviable social system. The reality, according to a new study published this week in Paris by consultants Roland Berger, is that digital companies not only boost economic growth - they also increase worker satisfaction.

Launching the new Roland Berger Internet report
Berger studied 505 companies, all with more than 50 employees, classifying them in four categories by how much they use the Internet. Its study focused not on sexy Internet startups, but on traditional industries such as chemistry, energy or manufacturing. The conclusion was striking: new digital technologies are just as important in these traditional sectors as for high tech startups. The most “digital” grow six times faster than the “least digital”.



Given this finding, it is unsurprising that French companies sense the opportunity: some 57% interviewed put digital transformation as one of their medium term strategic priorities. Unfortunately, actions do not follow these intentions. Only 36% of French companies have a formal digital strategy and French corporate Internet engagement lags far behind French consumer use. While nearly six in 10 French people shopped online in 2013, only one French company in 10 sold online.

If more French companies embarked on the digital journey, Berger argues they would not only improve their performance - they also would please workers. Employees of the most digitally mature companies feel at least 50 percent more involved and happier in their professional life than those of the least matures ones. In a country famed for its quality of life, this is indeed an impressive finding!

Posted by Elisabeth Bargès, Senior Manager, Public Policy and Government Affairs, France

Encouraging Online Video Content in Israel

Many countries, particularly small ones, face a similar dilemma - how to encourage local production in their own languages. Governments might suggest that the best response is regulation, to artificially require local language video content production. We believe this is neither justified nor effective.

The Internet encourages local content creation. In Israel, the creators of Tu-Ti-Tu, an Israeli animation studio specializing in shows for toddlers, tried to make it on TV for years without much success. Today, Tu-Ti-Tu is among the 100 most viewed channels globally on YouTube, and one of the 10 leading channels for family entertainment.



All told, YouTube captures more than a billion views each day. For content creators in a small country like Israel, the internet connects them to a global audience, overcoming physical barriers.

Here, we’ve partnered with the Israeli Film and TV Producers Association and with the Ministry of Economy to run Made for Web - a celebration of Israeli content online.



It’s a competition for online video content. Winners are rewarded with cash prizes and a trip to the YouTube Space in London. Last year, there were more than 150 innovative, funny and serious submissions, ranging from travel advice by a three year old child, to an action series for gamers. Winners took a visit to the YouTube space in London, which they later described as “heaven for video creators.”



This year, we’re going to be running a workshop on October 29 in Tel Aviv, where Israeli creators can meet international and local speakers and share best practices. Matthew Clarke of Maker Studio and Jake Roper from Vsauce will be there. Most important, Made for Web II is now open for submissions. Apply by October 31st - and create some more great Hebrew language video.

Posted by Noa Elefant Loffler, Policy and Government Relations Senior Manager, Israel

Spurring Greek tourism

For the past five years, an economic meltdown has plunged Greece into crisis. Amid the the rubble, the country’s economic motor more than ever has become tourism. It now accounts 17% of GDP, and powered by the Internet, is demonstrating, a high potential for growth. Our "Grow Greek Tourism Online” program, launched, in partnership with the Minister of Tourism, the National Tourism Board and the Federation of Tourism Enterprises, allows B&Bs, neighborhood restaurants and even specialty ice cream shops and bars to use the Internet and reach new customers.



The program provides tourism entrepreneurs with digital skills and tools to grow their business during and beyond Greece’s short summer tourism season. About 70 percent of the country's tourism arrivals take place between June and September. Although Greece's islands and beaches are delightful in spring and autumn, only about 17 percent of tourists come in May, October and November. “Now, more than ever, it is possible to gradually extend the tourist season. Through web partnerships and the use of innovative tools, we make a further step in this direction," said Olga Kefalogianni, the Minister of Tourism.

The opportunity is significant: According to recent research by Oxford Economics, an increase in the online activities of the Greek tourism industry can grow Greece’s GDP by 3% and create 100K new jobs.



As a first step, we kicked off the program in Crete (which accounts for 15 percent of the country’s tourism business), hosting events for small and medium sized businesses in the island’s two largest cities, Chania and Heraklion. More than 600 companies participated. Greece’s National Tourism Board EOT launched a campaign for Crete as an autumn tourism destination on their +Page with over 1.4 million followers. “Everyone involved in tourism must take advantage of the web." said EOT’s General Secretary, Panos Livadas. The President of the Federation of Tourism Enterprises Andreas Andreadis summed up the project best: "That’s a strong bright light which should help power Greece out of its long economic gloom.”

Posted by Dionisis Kolokotsas, Public Policy & Government Relations Manager, Athens

Expanding our data centres in Europe

The Internet is growing fast and so is demand for our services, from search to Gmail and YouTube. In order to keep up with this growth, we are announcing a new EUR600 million investment over the next four years to build a new data centre in Eemshaven, the Netherlands.

Groundbreaking at our new data centre site in the Eemshaven with, on the right, Dutch Economics Minister Henk Kamp
At a time of high unemployment throughout Europe, the project promises a welcome infusion of jobs. Construction will provide work for more than 1000 workers. We expect to start initial operations in the first half of 2016 and to be fully operational by the end of 2017. By then, the centre will create employment for more than 150 people in a range of full-time and contractor roles. The jobs do not require phds in computer science; they include IT technicians, electrical and mechanical engineers, catering, facilities and security staff.

The new Dutch data centre will benefit from the latest designs in cooling and electrical technology. It will be free-cooled - taking advantage of natural assets like cool air and grey water to keep our servers cool. Our data centers use 50% less energy than a typical datacenter - and our intention is to run this new facility on renewable energy.

This will be Google’s fourth hyper efficient facility in Europe. Importantly, demand for Internet services remains so strong that the new building does not mean a reduction in expansion elsewhere. Our expansion will continue in Dublin in Ireland, in Hamina in Finland, and in St. Ghislain in Belgium. Our existing rented datacenter facility in Eemshaven also will continue to operate.

Since our investment in our first European datacenter back in 2007, we have been on the lookout for supportive communities with the necessary resources to support large data centers. The required ingredients are land, workforce, networking, a choice of power and other utilities including renewable energy supplies.

It’s much more efficient to build a few large facilities than many small ones. Eemshaven enjoys a direct cable connection to two major European Internet hubs, London and Amsterdam. In the Eemshaven, we've found a great community in a great location that meets the needs to become a backbone for the expanding Internet.

Posted by William Echikson, Head of Data Centre Community Relations, Europe

Creating value from data

At Google, we like to experiment. Today we are experimenting with a guest blogpost from the UK innovation charity Nesta. Although we had no involvement in this study of how companies best can benefit from the information age, we think it offers a valuable contribution on Europe’s skills debate and wanted to share the conclusions.

We are living in the middle of a data explosion – a rich opportunity, but also a much
misunderstood one. In previous research, we showed that businesses which analyse their data intensively become 10% more productive than their average competitor. By contrast, collecting data on its own has little impact on performance.

Our newly published research, ModelWorkers, the first report in a project in collaboration with Creative Skillset and The Royal Statistical Society, looks at the data skills that businesses need to produce these impacts.

Model Workers
Interviews with 45 experts in UK data-driven companies reveal that all types of companies are converging into the ‘big data’ space. from pharmaceutical giants to small retailers and manufacturers. All are all experimenting with bigger, messier and faster data, and catching up with leading players in software, advertising, games and finance.

As a result, everyone is looking for the same ‘perfect data analyst’, or ‘data scientist’: a creative worker with analytical, coding and business skills, team working and charisma. These people are hard to find. Four out of five of the companies we interviewed say they struggle to find data scientists.

In Model Workers we identify interventions to remove these shortages. They include up-skilling established professionals such as statisticians, programmers and social scientists, developing vocational training in universities and encouraging more crossover between computer science, statistics and business disciplines. We also need to build up communities of data practice, and develop training and professional standards. Policymakers should make it easier for foreign students to work in Europe after completing data analysis courses.

In the longer term we need to improve the teaching of maths at schools, and change false perceptions of data work as boring and dull. Some of the most exciting and creative jobs across the economy today – from developing new games to discovering new drugs – are based on data, and we need to make sure everyone is aware of this crucial trend.

Posted by Hasan Bakhshi and Juan Mateos-Garcia, Nesta