Google Developer Student Clubs (GDSC) are university-based community groups for students interested in Google technologies.

Introduction

This blog is about how I went from wanting a place to learn code at my college to leading a club that helps others do the same!

See, my college didn't have a club for coding. This meant missing out on chances to learn and meet other coders. It wasn't fair! I figured everyone should have the chance to learn about technology in college.

So, even though I wasn't sure if I'd get picked, I decided to apply to be a GDSC Lead. (GDSC stands for Google Developer Student Clubs, by the way.) I thought, "Why not try? What's the worst that could happen?"

This blog is all about my experience of selection. I'll share how to apply to be a GDSC Lead, eligibility, benefits, and what to put in your application to make it stand out. Get ready to learn how YOU can become a GDSC Lead and help others discover the awesome world of coding!

What is GDSC?

GDSC stands for Google Student Developer Club. It is a program by Google to help students learn, share, and connect with other students and to learn technologies like web, cloud, and Machine Learning. The GDSC is a community or club that university students lead.

GDSC organizes events, sessions on technologies, and hackathons and collaborates with other GDSC's. GDSCs also serve as a platform for students to connect with industry professionals, access resources, and gain practical experience in software development.

If you want to know more about GDSC, then check this link.

Eligibility to become a GDSC LEAD

- Have at least 18 years old with at least one year left until graduation.
- Be enrolled full-time in an undergraduate or graduate program.
- Passionate about technology and creating a strong developer community.
- Possess a solid technical understanding of computer programming.
- Have experience with event planning or leading a team.

Benefits of GDSC LEAD

- Grow as a leader and developer.
- Build a thriving developer community.
- Network with industry professionals and Google experts.
- Shape the future by organizing impactful events like workshops and hackathons etc.,
- Connect with the students all over the world.
- Peer-to-peer learning environment and build solutions for local businesses.

Application Journey

You can apply for GDSC LEAD through this link.

1. Application Round

In the application, you have to fill in basic details like name, place, social media profiles, college name, and college location.

Then there is an option of nomination (referral) code. This code will not guarantee you a selection but gives you an Edge over other applicants for shortlisting your proposal. You can get that code from a previous GDSC lead of your college or if your college does not have a GDSC lead then reach out to previous GDSC leads through Linkedin or Twitter.

How did I secure my referral code?

Since I was applying to be the first GDSC Lead at my college, I needed a referral code. To secure one, I first reached out to a previous GDSC Lead on Twitter. I explained my motivation to become a leader and build a community, but unfortunately, I was a bit late – they had already distributed their referral codes.

Then I connected with another GDSC Lead on LinkedIn. They requested my resume to assess my skills and experience. At the time, my resume wasn't as polished as it could have been, but I went ahead and sent it anyway. Thankfully, the GDSC Lead saw potential in my knowledge and achievements and assured me I had what it takes to be a successful leader. This is how I finally obtained a referral code. Everyone wants to see your capability to be a GDSC lead before giving the referral code.

Important things of the Application round

Essays

This is not about answering or filling out the essay. It's about our experiences, passion for communities, the experience of leading a team and tackling the challenges with a team, and expressing our genuine belief in the impact a community like GDSC could have on students.

My essays include:

My essays are not scripted, it was an honest journey, experience, and my belief to start a GDSC community in my college. I shared the real challenges I faced, the hurdles I overcame, the team lead perspective, and the satisfaction of being a team leader. I shared my journey of getting into tech and how technologies excite me and how they could solve real-world problems. I shared stories of mentoring and teaching, not as achievements, but as helping someone to know about it.

Tips for Essays

Do not exceed the word limit. (2000 characters)
Be Honest
Share your real-life experiences
Make the essay a story.
The reader is excited to continue reading it.
Give proper examples and add appropriate details.

The questions are:

What is your motivation to run a Google Developer Student Club at your Institution?

To this question, you have to write why you want to be a GDSC Lead in your college if it's the first GDSC in your college or even if it's not.

you can write the importance of having a technical community in your college, the benefits of students with GDSC, coding culture in your college, and share your community work.

What is your experience in leading a project or a team?

To this question, share your experience of building a project in a team or if you participated in any hackathon with the team. You can share your experience of any program as a team.

Focus on sharing your role in the team, the challenges you and your team faced, and solutions you applied to overcome them.

What is your experience with technology?

To this question, share your learnings, projects you build, and your tech stack.

Youtube video

A YouTube video that shows that you are the right candidate for GDSC LEAD.

Take the YouTube video as a summary of your essay answers. In my YouTube video, I included my passion for technology, communities and I shared about my community which is a WhatsApp group for females to share any opportunities I shared why I created it and what things I would like to share with my college students and expressed the genuine passion for communities and sharing of knowledge.

Tips for Youtube video

Do not exceed the time limit
Be Honest
Communication should be good.
Record video without disturbance and with good lighting
Your face should be visible
Start with a quote or name or end it with a quote
Share your real-life experiences
Give proper explanation
Add things like the college name, and any example pictures or videos in the video.
Publish it on YouTube (if you don’t want your video available publicly then publish it as private and add that link, make sure you check the link before submitting)

Note: The link to the video cannot be to YT Shorts only to a regular video.

2.Diagnostic Test

Once your initial application gets submitted you’ll be moving on to the Diagnostic Test.

An objective test to check your personality and knowledge.
It consists of MCQ which is very easy.

(basic reasoning questions, pseudocode, and basic C program output and error detection queries,cs fundamentals just the basics of our first semester)

In the next section, there were approximately 50–100 situational questions like what we would do if this happened in our tenure as GDSC Lead.
This test will be given once and should have stable internet and a calm place.

It was an easy assessment if we knew C language, CS fundamentals like operating systems, and basic aptitude questions.

For operating systems, you can check my blog which covers the basic concepts of operating system.

https://iqra-firdose.hashnode.dev/operating-system

3.Interview

After passing the application round and diagnostic test, the next step was the interview round. The email has certain dates and times, you have to choose a slot as per your availability.

Final round
Consists of a 30-minute Google Meet for shortlisted candidates.
It tests your technical skills and leadership mindset
Overview of your plans and motives as a GDSC lead.
Cross questions based on your answers.

My interview

I was a bit nervous because this was the first time I was giving an interview but the interviewer was humble and made me relax freely. I started the interview by introducing myself and talking about my experiences , projects and achievements and then I showed demo of the projects and then she asked some questions around Data Structures and OOPS concepts.And then she asked to share any leadership experience.And in the last , there are questions around GDSC .

I am listing down all the questions she asked me so that you can get an idea of how the interview process works

Tell me about time and space complexity.
Explain about linkedlist?
Explain me OOPS concepts in a simple way?
Tell me about the projects you made in detail, and which languages you used, I was asked to show the demo of the project.
Are you worked these projects in a team then what's your role and work?
How can you plan a session that demonstrates the practical implementation of technology?
What qualities do you see in your team as a leader?
If for some reason you are not able to attend the event and manage the event what will you do?
How do you manage having an exam and an event scheduled for the same time?
What's your plan B if the speaker cancels at the last minute?
What will you do if attendees are not as expected?
What will you do if the event goes over budget?

For these questions, I firstly listen the question properly then I gave the answers that I will do honestly if I was in that place.

First question will be “Introduce yourself”
Prepare a good introduction about yourself beforehand. Also, ensure you have a stable internet connection for the interview
They ask to show your projects during the interview. Be prepared to showcase them.
Throughout the interview, highlight your leadership and team management skills, along with your passion for sharing knowledge.
For situational questions, listen attentively and provide thoughtful answers, approaching the problems from the perspective of a GDSC Lead.

And then in July,We got the results . And guess what , I was selected as a GDSC LEAD .

With this , I became the founding GDSC LEAD and the First GDSC established in my college.

For me , GDSC is a chance to establish coding environment in my college and let them know the various opportunities for a student because I missed lots of opportunities .

After becoming a GDSC LEAD ,you’ll be guided on every step .

I will try to write a blog on my experience as a GDSC lead , as it was not easy to grow a first club in the college and create the coding environment.

Conclusion

If you found this blog post helpful, please consider sharing it with others who might benefit. If you are applying for GDSC LEAD for the batch 2024-2025 , All the best .

You can also follow me for blogs on web development , CS fundamentals and my learnings .

Connect with me on Twitter and Linkedin.

Thank you for Reading :)

All about GOOGLE DEVELOPER STUDENT CLUBS (GDSC )

Table of contents