At Google's first summer camp in India, small-town kids get a slice of big tech

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In the twentieth century, as the saying would go, "a No 2 pencil and a dream could take you anywhere." In today's world it's a computer and a dream that can take you anywhere. That is what 40 children, who were at Google India office in Gurugram this week, found. Tech giant Google recently organised its very first summer camp in India where the kids from across the country got to experience a magical moment that they would forever hold in their hearts.

The initiative, which came into being when Googlers thought about educating the children about internet safety in an exciting manner during this summer, saw over 20,000 children between 13 to 18 years of age sending in their entries to participate in the month-long competition with the hopes making it to their nearest Google office for the final event. The competition was divided into four "assignments" wherein the participants had to use Google products to explore places and cultures of various countries.

In their first assignment, children had to use Google Earth to explore a country of their choice (France, Spain or China). Next, they had to use Google Translate to understand key words of the language used in the country of their choice. In their third assignment, children had to use Google Arts and Culture to explore museums in the country they had picked and make a gallery out of it. In their final assignment, they had to use a programming tool called Google Scratch to build an app to share their experiences. And the reward for completing all the four assignments was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get a certificate of participation from Google and an exclusive chance to visit and explore Google offices.

Daksh Kohli from Kapurthala, Punjab

Nearly 100 children, who successfully completed all the four assignments and managed to woo the judges at Google by the exemplary display of their knowledge and course learning, were selected to visit the Google offices. While some of them got to visit the Google office in Hyderabad, others were at the Google campus in Gurugram this week.

Many of the 40 kids who visited Google's Gurugram office came from smaller towns such as Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Varanasi. With hopes of a bright future beaming through their smiles and excitement in their eyes, these kids were amazed and enthusiastic to be a part of the event.

Harmandeep Singh from Hoshirpur, Punjab

But whether they were from smaller towns, or from nearby Delhi, somethings were common: The kids were curious, they had a zest for programming, they liked being on a computer, and the visit to the Google office was like a dream come true for them.

"Till 11AM we got to explore the Google office. And it was very fun to see. We were very excited to see different things that we do in our daily lives, how do they actually work," 13-year-old Daksh Kohli from Kapurthala, Punjab, told India Today Tech. His experiences were shared by 17-year-old Harmandeep Singh from Hoshiarpur, Punjab. "It's something like a dream coming true. You can get great amount of creativity. Like the ideas come automatically. The employees here are very friendly," he said while sharing his experiences with us.

Suvesh Moza from Jammu

While stepping into the Google office might have been an Alice In Wonderland kind of a moment for these kids, spending a day there while exploring the place and various technologies and talking to Googlers was an equally exciting experience for them. "We toured the office. I really liked the place. I really like the facilities that they provide here. You can work any way you want. There are no boundaries," 18-year-old Vishal Kumar from Varanasi told India Today Tech.

"I saw a lot of things here. There is a micro kitchen on every floor which is there for the employees. There is a lot of greenery all around. I liked the top floor," 17-year-old Suvesh Moza from Jammu said while sharing his experiences. "Everything was creative. It was a mixture of technology and arts," added Daksh.

Vishal Kumar from Varanasi

Spending a day at the Google office might have been the highlight of their month-long adventure with the company, but it was definitely not the only gripping experience that these kids had. In fact, most of them enjoyed the assignments as much as they enjoyed visiting the Google Campus. "I learnt about the culture of various countries. I learnt about their traditions and I got to explore places that I couldn't visit using Google Earth. I enjoyed that," shared Suvesh.

"I had two weeks holidays, I completed first three assignments in one week and the fourth assignment was the most exciting. It was all about programming. Program methodology and Scratch tool by Massachusetts Institute of Technology. That's also really great opportunity," said Harmandeep who is already a celebrity at his school owing to an app he developed at his school along with his two friends-Kartik Ohri and Vardaan Sen.

Interestingly, for some of these kids, the company's summer camp apart from familiarising them with internet safety practices and Google tools also helped them to change their views about programming. "I just want to become a Google employee when I grow up," shared Daksh, who was one of the youngest winners in the group.