Google Women Techmakers Engineering Fellows Program: A Complete Guide
The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. Be in charge of your own destiny.
It was back in January 2020 when I got to know about the TalentSprint Women Engineers Program. I was in my first year and yes, was completely determined to get a spot for myself in this amazing program. I believed this was one of the greatest opportunities for a first year girl to enhance their technical and soft skills from an early stage.
So after 4 stages of selection process and more than 15000 applications, I finally became one of the 126 WE TalentSprint Scholars, now known as the Women Techmakers Engineering Fellows (WTEF) Program, and each day I am grateful to be a part of this amazing program.
In this blog, I have talked about my experience in the WTEF Program, the application process and its different stages, the eligibility criteria, along with my preparation strategy.
So let’s begin.
What is the Women Techmakers Engineering Fellows Program?
The Women Techmakers Engineering Fellows Program, is a 2 year professional development program designed by Talent Sprint and supported by Google for motivated women engineering students to excel in the tech industry.
It consists of a combination of boot camps, live online classes, mentorship, certifications and team-based projects to enhance problem-solving and computational thinking.
It also provides exemplary participants with a chance to get career opportunities at high end product companies including Google.
To know more checkout their website here : https://wtef.talentsprint.com/
Eligibility
In order to be a part of this program, one has to make sure that they meet following eligibility criteria.
- Women students currently in the first year of engineering
- B.E. or B.Tech student from IT, CS or equivalent streams
- Over 70% in both grade X and XII
Perks and Benefits
Being a Women Techmakers Engineering Fellow, comes with a lot of perks.
- You get to be a part of such an amazing community of talented women and excellent mentors to support you and guide you throughout your tech journey.
- You will get mentorship by senior engineers at Google.
- You will build projects on real-life use cases and participate in global coding challenges and hackathons.
- Not only technical, the WTEF program also builds up your soft skills and gives you confidence to achieve your goals and dreams and become a better programmer.
- This program will enhance your problem-solving and computational thinking.
- You will get to attend physical bootcamps in Hyderabad over the course of 2 years which will include a visit to the Google Hyderabad Headquarters.
- All the selected candidates will be given a scholarship of Rs. 2,00,000 over the course of two years.
Application Process
The application consists of a 4 stage selection process and only after clearing them you will become a part of this program. So let’s talk about the 4 stages.
Stage 1 : Online Application
You will have to fill an online application which asks about your personal and academic details along with the required documents. This stage is to verify your eligibility for the program.
Stage 2 : Online Aptitude Test
In this stage you will have to undergo two separate tests, one for Analytical and Quantitative Reasoning and the other for English Language Skills.
For Analytical and Quantitative Reasoning , you will have to appear for an online test. The test will be of 60 minutes and will consist of questions of aptitude, basic math and logical reasoning.
On clearing this, the next step will be to test your English and Language Skills. This will be your second online assessment and here you will have to appear for an english speaking, reading and writing test.
Stage 3 : Online Coding Assessment
After clearing the English Language Skills test, the next stage is the Online Coding Assessment in Python. This, I believe, is one of the most crucial stages. Before appearing for the test, you will be given 2 weeks of time to learn and practice for the coding assessment. In these two weeks you will be provided with mock questions and study material for your assessment and you will also have online doubt clearing sessions by the mentors at TalentSprint.
After 2 weeks, you will appear for the Online Coding Assessment. You will be required to choose a time slot according to your preference and availability.
The test will consist of two separate sections, Multiple Choice and Coding. The Multiple Choice section consists of 15 questions and the Coding section has 3 questions. You have to solve them both within the time frame of 2 hours. The questions asked were of easy to medium level and varied for each applicant.
Make sure you use the two weeks time allotted to you efficiently for the preparation and get all of your doubts cleared.
Stage 4 : Online Interview
This is the final stage of the selection process. After successfully completing the above 3 stages, you will be notified about the online interview. The interview will be held based on your convenience and time slot preference. The interview may range from 10 minutes to even 30 minutes depending upon your performance in the previous stages.
For me the interview process was pretty straightforward. I was asked about my experience with the previous tests and my expectations from the program. I was also asked about my availability to attend the classroom bootcamps in Hyderabad.
The interview process varied for most of the applicants. So be prepared to answer some fun puzzles and problems and make sure you are honest with your answers and are confident.
How to Prepare?
To prepare for the Aptitude test, I would suggest you to go through the aptitude and basic math questions provided on the internet and practice them to improve your speed and accuracy. I personally went through random aptitude and mathematics questions on the internet and solved them with a timer.
To prepare for the coding test, I would suggest you to go through the fundamentals of python, python data structures and practice problems from online coding platforms rated easy to medium. Also practice all the mock questions that will be provided to you during the preparation period. I mainly practiced from online platforms like Coding Bat and Hackerrank. I also focused on the platforms suggested by TalentSprint during the preparation period and practiced all the mock questions.
Keep your basics and fundamentals clear and you will be good to go for the coding assessment.
Results
After successfully clearing the above stages, you will be notified via mail about your selection and seat confirmation.
And voila! You are now a Women Techmakers Engineering Fellow!
But wait, this isn’t it. Once you get selected you will have to showcase the same passion and interest in this program by actively taking part in the online sessions, completing all the assessments on time, and following the code of conduct. Failure to which may still get you removed from the program.
So be motivated, keep learning and keep growing!
My Experience
My experience with the program has been absolutely amazing! Almost every other day, I feel so grateful to be a part of this amazing community.
Not only did I develop good coding skills, this program made me feel so confident about myself and helped me overcome my imposter syndrome. It gave me motivation to work hard towards my goals and gave me the resources needed to achieve them. This program taught me how to step out of my comfort zone and aim for bigger things in life.
And of course, the group of 126 talented women, have been a great source of motivation. Each one of them has inspired me to be a better version of myself and have given me the motivation to work harder.
With this, I would like to thank you for reading and I hope this blog helps you in your journey with the WTEF Program. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to comment or reach out to me on LinkedIn and Twitter.
All the very best! Keep learning and keep shining!
