Google Code-in is our annual contest that gives students age 13 to 17 experience in computer science through contributions to open source projects. This blog post is the second installment in our series reflecting on the experiences of Google Code-in 2015 grand prize winners. Be sure to check out the first post in the series.

This week we profile three more grand prize winners from Google Code-in 2015. These students came from all around the world to celebrate with us in June after successfully completing 692 tasks that resulted in significant contributions to the participating open source projects.

Google Code-in 2015 Grand Prize Winners and Mentors were treated to a cruise around San Francisco Bay.

Google Code-in is our annual contest to help pre-university students gain real-world computer science experience by taking on tasks of varying difficulty levels with the help of volunteer mentors. These tasks are created by open source projects so while learning, the students are contributing to the software many of us use on a daily basis.

The finalists and winners for our 2015/2016 season were announced in February and, in June, the grand prize winners joined us for four days of learning and celebration. Students and their guardians came from all around the world. One of my favorite things, as one of the Googler hosts, was seeing the light bulbs go on above parents’ heads as they came to understand open source and why it’s so important. These parents and guardians were even more proud of the students as they learned how much their teenager has contributed to the world through participating in Google Code-in.

We’ve invited contest winners and organizations to write about their experience and will be sharing their stories in a series of blog posts. This marks the first post in the series.

Google Code-in 2015 Grand Prize Winners and Mentors

The Google Online Marketing Challenge (GOMC) provides a hands-on learning platform for students around the world to develop their online marketing skills and gain practical experience working with real businesses and non-profits to solve real problems and produce real results.

AdWords Business Awards

• The Global Winning team comes from the ESG UQAM – School of Management Sciences in Canada, under Professor Harold Boeck. The team of James Forbes, Nicolas Archambault-Doucet, Esme Fentener Levi and Thomas St-Amour worked with Alvéole, a company that helps people and organizations install and care for urban honeybee colonies.

• The Americas Winner comes from James Madison University in the United States, under Professor Theresa B. Clarke. The team of Lynn Radocha, Alexander Adley, Maianh Phan, John Thompson and Cari Ross worked with the Rockingham/Harrisonburg SPCA, a non-profit animal rescue shelter that provides care for all dogs, cats, and other small animals until they can be adopted into a safe, permanent home.
• The Asia & Pacific Winner comes from the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, under Professor Shilpa Sawant in India. The team of Aniruddha Pandhare, Devarsh Ganatra, Urvi Talaty, Dhananjay Thaker, Akash Pandey and Rini Antony worked with Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Vaidyakiya Pratishthan, a non-profit Trust that invests in various medical and social welfare initiatives to transform the lives of the poor and needy in the drought prone ‘Marathwada’ region of Maharashtra.
• The Europe Winner comes from the University of Turku in Finland, under Professor Joni Salminen. The team of Elina Ojala, Miia Bergström, Paula Suominen and Emma Jalonen worked with ResQ, a recently founded company with a mission to help consumers “rescue” leftovers from restaurants and acquire quality meals at a cheap price, while restaurants profit from selling food that would have otherwise been wasted.
• The Middle East & Africa Winner comes from Daystar University in Kenya, under Professor Maranga Moriasi. The team of Jeffrey Kanae, Moses Njeri Khatiebere, Evelyne Magaju, Sharone Awuori Tindi and Roselinda Were worked with Youth on the Move, a non-profit organization whose mission is to empower youth with epilepsy to build their skills, stand up for themselves and transform their desires into realistic plans and actions.

Google+ Social Media Marketing Awards

• The Global Winner comes from the Dwarkadas J. Sanghvi College of Engineering in India under Professor Khushali Deulkar. The team of Rosanlal Behera, Niki Jain, Harsh Jain, Chandrasekhar Raman, Pratik Bhambhani and Aayushi Dholakia worked with Kossine, a Neebal initiative and coaching institute that specializes in teaching Computer Programming and Electronics courses to students.

• The Americas Winner comes from James Madison University in the United States, under Professor Theresa B. Clarke. The team of Matt Deters, Molly McDevitt, Caitlin Fikac, Natalie Krewin and Claudia Schnorbus worked with the Poricy Park Conservancy, a non-profit that preserves 250 acres of open space, prehistoric fossil beds, and the historic Murray Farmhouse for the surrounding community.
• The Asia & Pacific Winner comes from the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, under Professor Shilpa Sawant in India. The team of Aniruddha Pandhare, Devarsh Ganatra, Urvi Talaty, Dhananjay Thaker, Akash Pandey and Rini Antony worked with Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Vaidyakiya Pratishthan, a non-profit Trust that invests in various medical and social welfare initiatives to transform the lives of the poor and needy in the drought prone ‘Marathwada’ region of Maharashtra.
• The Europe Winner comes from Kaunas University of Technology in Lithuania, under Professor Elena Vitkauskaitė. The team of Mantas Mitrauskas, Merita Simanavičiūtė, Agnė Raulinavičiūtė, Severina Sekrytė and Paulina Lazauskaitė worked with Dalinuosi.lt, an online sharing platform that promotes the protection of the environment and stimulates responsible usage by allowing people to lend their goods or borrow them from other consumers.
• The Middle East & Africa Winner comes from the Institute of Management Technology, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, under Professor Ali Zalzala. The team of Pratiksha Kumar, Shikhar Ahuja and Rahul Jain worked with Community Tracks, a non-profit in California that has a global agenda to provide under-served communities with sustainable technology solutions and associated education services that enhance the quality of life.

AdWords Social Impact Awards

• The 1st Place Winner comes from James Madison University in the United States, under Professor Theresa B. Clarke. The team of Emily Maynard, Jacob Shibley, Christine Provino, Jacob Brown and Amy Goffe worked with the Children’s Science Center, a non-profit children’s science museum focused on hands-on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) learning and providing unique opportunities for children to explore, create and be inspired.

• The 2nd Place Winner comes from the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, under Professor Shilpa Sawant in India. The team of Aniruddha Pandhare, Devarsh Ganatra, Urvi Talaty, Dhananjay Thaker, Akash Pandey and Rini Antony worked with Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Vaidyakiya Pratishthan, a non-profit Trust that invests in various medical and social welfare initiatives to transform the lives of the poor and needy in the drought prone ‘Marathwada’ region of Maharashtra.
• The 3rd Place Winner comes from James Madison University in the United States, under Professor Theresa B. Clarke. The team of Lynn Radocha, Alexander Adley, Maianh Phan, John Thompson and Cari Ross worked with the Rockingham/Harrisonburg SPCA, a non-profit animal rescue shelter that provides care for all dogs, cats, and other small animals until they can be adopted into a safe, permanent home.

To learn more about the Google Online Marketing Challenge and to pre-register for next year’s competition, please watch the GOMC video and visit our website: www.google.com/onlinechallenge.

This guest post is a part of a short series about Tatyana Goldberg and Guy Yachdav, instructors at Technical University of Munich, and the journey that was inspired by their participation as Google Summer of Code mentors for the BioJS project.

Tatyana Goldberg and Guy Yachdav, GSoC mentors and open source enthusiasts. Photo taken at the MorpheusCup competition Luxembourg, May 2016.

• Ariana Brazier (2013 BOLD Immersion participant) is the former President of the Spelman College section of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW). This summer, Ariana will be conducting research on homelessness before starting a Ph.D. program at the University of Pittsburgh.
• Rachel McKenzie is the former Vice President of the Spelman College section of NCNW. This summer, Rachel will be joining Teach for America.

• Stephen Worthy is the former co-President of Detroit Revitalization & Business Initiative (Detroit R&B) at the Ross School of Business. This summer, Steve will begin working with J.P. Morgan in New York with hopes of returning to Detroit to continue his commitment to his hometown.
• Benjamin Stickel is the former co-President of Detroit R&B. He will be returning to Detroit to continue his impact within his community while working at the Boston Consulting Group.

1. They had a front row seat to experience Google’s campus and culture.

2. They connected with Googlers through coffee chats, resume workshops with Google recruiters and as they walked around campus.

3. They had an inside look at Google’s products.

4. They presented their work to Googlers.

5. They inspired Googlers to step out of their comfort zones and continue striving to be agents of change in their communities.

From the patio on Google’s campus in Sunnyvale to a rooftop in Chicago, there were 17 events in 14 different cities across North America.

• Giant Hand from the University of Texas at Austin
• ); DROP TABLE teams; — from Princeton University
• Liveware Problem from the University Of Waterloo
• We’re Bad At This from Carnegie Mellon University
• UNO CS Squad from the University Of New Orleans
• Thyme Lords from New York University
• Volcano Volcanoes from the University Of Washington, Seattle
• Chrono Crew from the University Of Maryland College Park
• Shuai’s Guys from Northwestern University Illinois
• Jumping Jalapeños from Georgia Institute Of Technology
• nibbles ᕕ( ՞ ᗜ ՞ )ᕗ from Stanford University
• EPOCH FAIL from the Massachusetts Institute Of Technology (MIT)
• Team Avocado from San Jose State University
• Tyrannosaurus Rekt from WPI Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• Doctor Poo from the California Institute Of Technology
• Ultimate Norf from Harvey Mudd College
• Team a4c1bed85s0365c from the University Of British Columbia

Add Google Students to your circles on Google+ to learn more about next year’s competition.  We hope to see you there and uncover your passion for computer science.

• Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship for women in technology (US, Canada, and Europe, Middle East & Africa)
• Generation Google Scholarship for high school and university students from underrepresented backgrounds in computer science.
• Google Lime Scholarship for students with disabilities.
• Google Student Veterans of America (SVA) Scholarship for student veterans.

• The presentation and layout are easy – just follow the template on the AdMob website, and provide logical and cohesive explanations on each step of your decision-making process.
• Give examples along the way. This does not necessarily mean flashy and colorful graphics, but a clear marketing strategy and an examples of your app’s performance will go a long way with the panel.
• Don’t worry about having the report translated to English. Submit the business report in the language you are most comfortable with.  
• It’s important to make sure your business report demonstrates a sound strategy behind the choices made when integrating AdMob into the app.
• With your marketing strategy, talk about how you have already marketed your app, and what you’re doing to get the word out about your app and to maximize downloads.

AdMob Student App Challenge Team

• Monitor user feedback so that you can make improvements as the app gets the feedback. Your app should be high quality, and part of that is improving it based on user suggestions.
• • Remember to submit your app and AdMob account ID to AdMob so we know you’ve built it.

• Promote your app. Think about creative ways to do it. Next week, look for a post on promotional suggestions that are simple and effective.

• Now is the time to start readying your business report, which is due on June 28, 2016 by 5:00PM PST through this link. The Challenge website already has a recommended template on it, and we will be sending out some pointers on having the best possible project soon.
• • Remember, your project will be reviewed by a panel of app experts from Google, so your business report will need to be thorough and of professional-level quality.

AdMob Student App Challenge Team

• Conference registration
• Round trip flight to Houston, TX (from within the US or Canada)
• $75 USD reimbursement for miscellaneous travel costs  
• Arranged hotel accommodations from October 18-22
• A fun event with your travel grant recipients on one of the evenings of the conference!

For questions, please email .

On a Thursday evening in February, more than 17,000 developers waited in anticipation to find out this year’s challenge for the Online Qualification Round of Hash Code. The live stream announcement quickly revealed the theme — drone deliveries — and within a few minutes teams were immersed in reviewing the problem statement. The four hour countdown began.

Written by Jessica Safir, University Programs