Seven students from our Faculty won the “Google Cloud Challenge”, organized by Google Cloud. A total of over 100 students took part in the competition, mainly from our Faculty. They had to not only complete all the tasks and laboratories, but also do it in the shortest possible time. Congratulations!

The challenge was to complete the laboratory classes on the Google Cloud Skills Boost platform and learn about the tools related to this technology: from data analysis, through Kubernetes, to cloud security. Ultimately, seven students of the Faculty were the fastest to acquire these skills and to obtain at least 3 Skill Badges.

The Magnificent Seven

Filip Dowhan, 2nd year student of ICT, Michał Gniadek, 1st year student of Applied Computer Science and Kacper Tytko from Cybersecurity (winners of 1st degree awards),
Przemysław Barcicki, 2nd year student of System Engineering and Adam Wilk from Cybersecurity (winners of 2nd degree awards),

Miłosz Woźniak from ICT and Rafał Mielniczuk from Applied Computer Science (winners of 3rd degree awards).

Fast and Content

Filip Dowhan, 2nd year student of ICT spent about 8 hours to do the tasks, but – as he admits – his plan was to spent an entire day on the job, without making breaks.

– I took part in the event to to become a more attractive potential employee and gain new practical skills in constantly developing technologies – says the student.

He adds that for him the most interesting aspect was the cloud technology itself, which he didn't have many occasions to learn about before.

– After the training provided on the platform, I started to understand this concept and learned how to use Google Cloud without many problems. Everything turned out to be very simple, says Filip Dowhan.

As a reward, he received a lot of tokens needed to participate in other trainings, which will be valid for six months after the challenge. Owing to the tokens, he can continue to self-develop at his own pace. His conversations with Google Cloud employees also turned to be inspirational, and he learned many important things. He will take them into account when planning his future career path.

Practice makes perfect

In turn, Michał Gniadek, a 1st year student of Applied Computer Science spent 7 hours to complete all of the tasks! He took part in the Google Cloud Challenge because he wanted to get to know the platform in practice.

– I believe that cloud computing is the future and it can be used in a very effective way in both private and business projects. Even if someone is not planning the future with Google Cloud Platform, I think it is worth knowing the basics of working in the cloud.

The laboratory classes were very diverse, ranging from simply creating virtual machines to using GCP in computations supporting AI. Everyone should find something for themselves – says the student.

In his opinion, the challenge was interesting, and the practical laboratory classes made it easier to remember the GCP structures. Moreover, they allow you to create running applications, instead of simply "click-producing" empty services.

According to Michał Gniadek, the most difficult stage comprised the final exams, which required performing specific tasks on the platform. A unique advantage was the ability to create real, operational resources and use the actual GCP infrastructure for free.

An impulse to act

For Kacper Tytko from Cybersecurity participation in the event meant an opportunity to expand his knowledge and test the Google Cloud platform in practice.

– It was an impulse to learn and develop skills related to cloud solutions. I was hoping to find out how the services we use every day work. I took it as an opportunity to gain valuable skills and I was not mistaken – says the student.

For him, the Google challenge was also an extremely interesting experience, and the training paths provided the basic information necessary to start working with Google tools in machine learning or in handling and representing large amounts of data.

– I got to know completely new methods and tools for work automation or handling large numbers of files. The completely new environment was both the greatest obstacle and the motivation for continuous self-education which brings measurable and satisfying results. I was surprised how many areas the Google Clouds platform can used in, how expanded it is and how many options it offers. It's amazing how, with limited knowledge and with the use of a minimal number of functions, it was possible to almost immediately perform tasks which would take up to several hours if other methods were used – says Kacper Tytko.

Googling on Google Challenge

Przemysław Barcicki, 2nd year student of System Engineering has always been interested in computer technology. He chose a technical secondary school with an IT profile, as he prefers practical classes rather than theory. Therefore, when he found out about the event, he immediately decided that it was something for him.

– I associate my future with cloud solutions. However, the fact that the whole event was practical is an added advantage. That's why I decided to take part in it without much thinking – he explains.

Learning something that is related to your future is interesting and inspiring. While completing the laboratory classes, he gained new skills, which he has already used in his own projects. The classes which verified theoretical knowledge turned out to be the most difficult for him, but they could be solved without much difficulty anyway.

– The only thing that caused problems were slight flaws in the class manuals, so instead of using only GCP, I had to use the Internet to find the reason why something did not work, but it can be counted as gaining skills, this time in googling - jokes Przemysław Barcicki.

Cloud management

For Adam Wilk from Cybersecurity, on the other hand, the participation in the event was an opportunity to gain new skills related to Google Cloud.

– It was most interesting to face new challenges regarding the laboratory classes prepared on the GCP platform. As a result, I gained basic skills in cloud infrastructure management, as well as in the use of Kubernetes in such environments. The most difficult part was to find enough free time to complete all the modules I was interested in – says the student.

Per aspera ad Google Cloud

On the other hand, Miłosz Woźniak from ICT believes that cloud technologies may be one of the most important aspects of future IT networks, which is why every opportunity to learn about them is very attractive. He also observes that Google is a gigantic company and they have an extensive expertise in that area. They have well developed both their technological solutions and the laboratory classes.

– The event was very interesting. I learned the basics of using some Google solutions. I am going to use the resources provided and gain more skills which can be generally useful in IT, not only with this particular Google technology – says the student.

According to him, the laboratory classes were well described. However, the final exams for each badge were the most difficult, because although they were well done, sometimes there was no specific description or specification and you had to guess what options were to be used.

Inspiring classes

Rafał Mielniczuk from Applied Computer Science is always trying to find “something interesting to do.” As he admits, he doesn't have any special hobby that would fill his free hours, but he likes when his schedule is full.

– It's when I feel that I am making good use of every moment. It is a pleasant feeling, especially when the subject of activity is something that suits my interests and allows me to self develop. The Google Challenge was just such a thing – says Rafał Mielniczuk.

For him, the wide range of tools available in the cloud turned out to be particularly interesting. It was inspiring to know that he won funding to learn each of them.

– I do not think that I will ever take full advantage of such a large offer, but I had the opportunity to familiarize myself with it. I chose the DevOps path. I had a particularly good time on it and learned a lot of useful information. Even though I did not become a professional, now I would know what materials to refer to in order to carry out similar tasks. The classes gave me an insight into what the actual work with some tools can look like – he adds.

For him, the most difficult part was the final laboratory class, which required more experience than that gained in just a few preliminary classes. However, with a little help from uncle Google and a few lines of copied code, he managed to do it and learned a lot of useful skills.

Satisfied with the job well done

When awarding the winners, Kamila Cioś from Google Cloud thanked everyone who accepted the first challenge and decided to expand their knowledge and skills.

– First of all, I wish to congratulate the winners on making it to the finish line and being able to expand their portfolios with very specific skills which are one of the most looked for in the labour market. Such an achievement encourages you to continue your adventure with Google Cloud – says Kamila Cioś.

Prof. Andrzej Kucharski, dean of the Faculty, is satisfied with the success of his students, because he has always wanted them to be able not only to expand their knowledge during regular classes, but also to gain practical, professional skills.

– By inviting various companies to cooperate, we want to introduce our students to the rich offer that awaits them in the labour market. We want to encourage them to acquire knowledge and skills at the Faculty. After graduating, they will appreciate the very tangible benefits of such an approach. And I do not mean only the financial side, but most of all the awareness of what they have learned and how they will be able to use it when taking up a job – says the dean, who met the students to congratulate them personally.