Women Techmakers Engineering Fellows Program
Lets think about some famous women in Tech. Well, my mind brings up names like Ada Lovelace who was the first programmer or Grace Hopper or Sudha Murthy or Sheryl Sandberg. You see that women have played an integral role in the field of Technology and even early programming. Yet, they still comprise less than 26% in tech sector globally.
Hence arises the objective of the Women Techmakers Engineering Fellows Program that is to balance this gender inequality by making girls globally competent. It is much more than a scholarship with boot-camps, live online classes mentor-ship from Googlers etc. It is a 2 year experiential program designed by Talentsprint and supported by Google. My cohort had about 126 students selected from all over India and this program has been guiding and molding us.
Eligibility And Application Process
In my year, the eligibility criteria was that the applicant should be:
- A female
- In the first year of any B.E or B.Tech degree courses (in the field of IT, CS or equivalent courses) at the time of application
- Have scored > 70% in 10th and 12th standard.
The application forms rolled out in February. The rigorous application process consisted of 4 stages-
Stage 1- Online Application: In this, the applicants have to fill in their details and provide required documents that confirm the eligibility of the participant. She also has to answer some essay questions.
Stage 2- Online Aptitude Test: This consists of of Analytical and Quantitative Reasoning test. Then an English Language test which includes speaking, writing and reading skills.
Stage 3- Online Coding Test: It was conducted using Python as a programming language after a period of online learning. It consisted of MCQs and coding questions. It consisted of basic to intermediate python.
Stage 4- Online Interview: This was a semi-technical round having programming related question as well as general problem solving.
We received a mail after each round telling us whether we got selected or not.
What motivated me to apply for this program?
When i was in first year, I confused how to go ahead with coding and what to do for a good career path. That’s when I found about this.
Initially skeptical as boot camp held in Hyderabad and I was not confident about leaving the city but when I read about all the perks this program offers, intrigued me. I felt selection will be hard but at least should try and probably I can get selected. Moreover, I saw it is supported by google and it had always been one of my dream companies so I wanted to be associated with it
So well, I can say that to start a new thing, sometimes we need a push. This program gave me that. It put me in a technical journey. It is just the beginning but gave me hope, that I can try to work hard and go in the direction of my dreams.
Perks
The perks of being a part of this program included the firstly, you learn to become a professional coder. Secondly, you learn skills sought by global tech companies. Thirdly, you get to interact with senior google leaders and be mentored by them. Moreover, you learn from such a good faculty at Talentsprint. They have a WE buddy system where you get paired up with a student mentor from the last cohort.
It doesn’t provide you placement but makes you globally competent for companies out there.
It supports girls financially as 100% of fee for the program is sponsored and all participants receive cash scholarships.
Lastly, you get guidance to build projects and get to join really amazing and fun sessions like I am remarkable session by google and so much more.
My Experience till now
My journey of being a part of WTEF program has been phenomenal and life-changing. It is an amalgam of learning and fun because every lecture leaves me yearning for the next. I have gained so much knowledge under the guidance of the wonderful mentors. We have had classes in early morning even 6 am and late evening but desire to learn kept us going
It was so enriching to work on projects from scratch on topics we had no idea of and with people from all over India. I have learnt a lot of skills apart from the technical skills as well.
Most importantly, it has turned me into a confident individual who is not afraid to choose her path. The skills I learn in this program act as a foundation in every project or responsibility I take up.
This program gifted me a family of like-minded girls, all full of passion for technology and always ready to help each other. The teachers and mentors are so knowledgeable and their experience resonates through their remarkable lectures and sessions. So yeah it has been a remarkable experience :)
