Tag Archives: European Union

Helping Europe’s youth find work

All across Europe, far too many young people struggle to find a job and starting their careers. That is why we are joining a coalition of businesses and governments called the Alliance for Youth, which will support European youth to gain new skills and work experience.

At an event today in Lisbon attended by European Commission President Jose-Manuel Barroso and Portuguese Prime Minister Passos Coelho, we committed to a range of initiatives to increase access to digital skills training and education in science, technology, engineering and maths. We're also extending our support for entrepreneurs in Europe.



At Google, we’ve taken on nearly 3500 new employees in Europe over the last three years - net growth of 60% since 2011. Of those 3500, nearly 650 are newly-minted graduates of European universities. They work in a wide range of technical and non-technical roles based in our offices across Europe. More jobs are available. We still have entry level positions open in engineering, advertising support, and product management.

Another priority is helping university students develop professional skills via internships. This summer alone, we’ll play host to more than 600 technical and non-technical interns in Europe. We have strong partnerships with universities and organizations.

Across Europe, we are working with partners to help meet some of the specific challenges facing young people. In Spain, where youth unemployment has reached an alarming 57%, we launched Activate, a platform to train the young generation in digital skills. Through a suite of offline and massive open online courses (MOOCs) on digital marketing, data analytics, cloud computing, e-commerce, we hope to reach more than 100,000 Europeans by early next year.

Our RISE (Roots in Science & Engineering) and CS4HS (Computer Science for High School) programs target younger high students. These programs nurture coding skills, use robotics to teach engineering and maths and help teachers with STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) education tools. Through our partnerships with education organizations, we’ll reach 500,000 students and teachers in 20 European countries, up from 100,000 in 2013.

Finally, Google continues to supports entrepreneurship in Europe. We plan to reach thousands of entrepreneurs through Google for Entrepreneurs, including Startup Weekend, Startup Grind or publicly available online learning resources tailored to early-stage entrepreneurs. We also support a growing number of startup hubs and co-working spaces: in London (Campus London), Berlin (The Factory) and Paris (Numa), and a recently announced Campus in Warsaw.

We're delighted to contribute to the new Alliance for Youth. All of us need to support young Europeans to develop the skills and experience allowing them to find meaningful careers in the 21st century economy.

Posted by Matt Brittan, President, Business and Operations, Northern and Central Europe

Participating in the EU’s Innovation Summit

I’m excited to be traveling to Brussels this week to attend the European Union’s flagship innovation summit.

Under the patronage of European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, the Convention will gather more than 2000 innovators, thought leaders, policy makers, business and top researchers. We’re delighted that the goal is to create an innovation-friendly environment, allowing great ideas to be turned into products and services that will bring our economy growth and jobs.



My role representing Google at such a big event is a bit daunting - two years ago, our executive chairman Eric Schmidt gave the keynote address.



At this year's edition, I will present Google's initiatives to foster entrepreneurship and startups. Our Google for Entrepreneurs program includes four European tech hubs in London, Krakow, Berlin, or Paris. These initiatives are Google’s pledge to the EU Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs.

We’re not just coming to the summit to talk, either. We’ll be there to offer participants Google will an exclusive demonstration of the exciting Google GLASS demonstration. GLASS is one of the first examples of the development in wearable technology that is meant to make exploring and sharing the world around you faster and easier. It just the type of idea and product that we would like to see emerge here in Europe.

Posted by Eze Vidra, Head of Google for Entrepreneurs - Europe, and Campus London

Curbing patent trolling in Europe

Last September, we joined a coalition of European and U.S. companies and associations in an open letter applauding Europe’s move toward a Unitary Patent System. Today, we’re releasing another letter with an expanded coalition.

We are participants in and supporters of the European patent system and look forward to its harmonized future. The coalition has proposed some changes to the Unitary Patent System draft rules to help ensure its smooth operation and to curb abuses by the kinds of patent trolls that have plagued the U.S. economy.

Patent trolls—entities that don’t make anything, instead using dubious patents to extort money from companies that do—are placing a huge drag on innovation. In the United States, trolls use the threat of expensive and lengthy litigation to extract settlements, even if their patents wouldn’t hold up in court.

A Unitary Patent System could promote efficiency and long-term competitiveness. But the current draft rules contain certain provisions that trolls could exploit, taking a potentially serious toll on economic growth and innovation in Europe.

For instance, the rules as currently written could allow a troll to block a product from the European market using a patent that later turns out to be invalid. We think that the validity of a patent should be tested before it impacts 500 million European consumers.

The proposals outlined in our coalition letters would build confidence that Europe’s new Unitary Patent System will address the problem of patent trolls, allowing companies to invest in innovation and growth—not frivolous patent litigation.

Posted by Catherine Lacavera, Director of Patent Litigation

Participating in Safer Internet Day

In time for Safer Internet Day this week, we revamped our Family Safety Centre. The new version aims to be a one-stop shop that provides step-by-step instructions for using safety tools built into Google products. We attempt to answer questions about specific topics that are most concerning to parents, such as accessing inappropriate content and meeting strangers online.



Throughout Europe, we promoted Safer Internet Day on Google home pages and our teams got into action. In Spain, for example, we participated in a presentation with local partner Protegeles bringing together kids, parents and teachers. In Israel, the Children’s Rights Committee at the Parliament met with our Web-Rangers, to discuss how teenagers can promote online safety.

Here in Brussels, we hosted for lunch in our office with the winners of the European Award for Best Content for Kids, a European wide contest highlighting content allowing young people online opportunities to learn, play, discover and invent. Winning entries such as the from the UK (see below) touch important topics like the issue of cyberbullying.



European Commissioner Neelie Kroes received the winners later in the day at the Commission’s Berlaymont headquarters and posted its “Let’s Create a Better Internet Together” video on YouTube.



The Internet and social platforms offer tremendous opportunities for youth: self-expression, civil engagement, and collaboration with communities. At the same time, like any tool, the web can be abused. We are proud to build powerful safety tools into our products, ranging from SafeSearch to Safety Mode. In the end, its up to all of us to stand up for for a safe and secure internet, not just on the annual Safer Internet day - but every day!

Posted by Marco Pancini, Senior Policy Manager, Brussels