Europe Blog
Our views on the Internet and society
Campus Warsaw: Central and Eastern Europe’s Digital Leap
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Last week I was in Warsaw to launch
Campus Warsaw
, a modern space for entrepreneurship, in a town that is postively pulsing with start-up talent. I am thrilled to see how Poland and the broader Central Eastern European region is making a big digital leap and I’m happy that Google can help fuel this growth.
Campus Warsaw
is a place for Poland’s and Central Eastern Europe’s entrepreneurs to gather, build companies, network, learn and share. The site provides everything necessary - from office and event space to training and mentoring programs and more - to help freshly-minted entrepreneurs thrive.
A year ago, Eric Schmidt discussed this project with Poland’s Prime Minister Tusk - as a way to strengthen Poland's and CEE region's innovation economy. Last week I was joined by political leaders and startup community leaders from Poland, thirteen European Member States and the United States, to celebrate the launch of this investment.
Campus Warsaw was opened under the Honorary Patronage of the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda. Mateusz Morawiecki, Deputy Prime Minister of Poland was joined by government officials and startup communities representatives from 15 countries at the inauguration ceremony. Everyone was excited to see how a strong focus on entrepreneurship can fuel economic growth in the CEE region.
Campus Warsaw is joining our similar investments in London, Tel Aviv, Madrid, and Seoul. Other Campus sites, like Campus London, which opened its doors just over three years ago, have been hugely successful, building a community of nearly 50,000 members. Startups there have created more than 1,800 new jobs, raising over US$110 million in funding.
Campus Warsaw is part of our Growth Engine effort for all of Europe -- Europe's entrepreneurship is growing and going global on digital -- strong entrepreneurship spirit (and a Single Digital Market) is what Europe needs the most to boost its economic growth and competitiveness.
Posted by Matt Brittin, President, Google EMEA, Business & Operations
Google for Entrepreneurs Tech Hub Network arrives in Ireland
Thursday, August 27, 2015
When Google first started in Ireland, we opened an office with just five people. Today we have more than 5000 people in our Dublin office and as we have grown, so has Dublin’s tech community. The city is now home to some of the biggest global tech firms as well as some of the most promising startups in Europe. This community is creating jobs and opportunity with two thirds of all new jobs in the Irish economy being created by startups.
We have always been committed to supporting the startup community in Dublin to help the next generation of companies succeed. So we are especially pleased that today the Google for Entrepreneurs Tech Hub Network announced a partnership with Dogpatch Labs, one of Ireland’s leading startup organisations. The announcement was made by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton T.D at an event at Dogpatch Labs today.
The partnership will provide co-working space along with new resources including funding, training and mentorship opportunities. Members will also get access to Google programs and products throughout the network including:
Mentorship from Dublin Googlers (in 2014, over 200 Googlers mentored Irish startups)
Eligibility for Google product offers relevant to startups; and
The Google for Entrepreneurs Global Passport, where entrepreneurs from each hub can work for free at spaces designated at any other hub in the network including London, San Francisco and Tel Aviv
With Dogpatch Labs and our
Google for Entrepreneurs program
, we hope Dublin’s world-class startup community will grow that much faster, building transformative products and companies that will take the world by storm. We can’t wait to see what new ideas come out
Posted by Paddy Flynn, Startup engagement at Google Ireland
Happy 3rd Birthday, Campus London!
Thursday, March 26, 2015
When we opened
Campus London
in 2012, right in the heart of
Tech City
, we wanted to offer founders and startups a support network, education, mentoring and more. And most of all, we wanted to provide a physical space so that the startup community could gather, work together and grow.
So we’re delighted that in just three short years, 41,000 people have joined our community, from old hands to first timers, investors to founders, designers to developers and doers. As the London startup scene accelerates in pace, so does the community; in 2014 alone, startups within the Campus London network created over 1,200 jobs and raised over £41 million in capital, doubling the growth from 2013 and demonstrating strong ecosystem health.
Campus London’s meeting spaces have had a clear impact too. For example,
Give Me Tap
, a recent Y Combinator graduate, was conceived in the Campus Cafe because founder Edwin was trying to drink enough water to hone his stomach into a rippling six-pack.
Coffee Labs
, a connection platform built around coffee, aims to help others have the same kind of serendipitous encounters that its founders were having inside Campus. And
Code Club
has now outgrown the Campus cafe and become a nationwide network that’s inspiring thousands of kids to create through code.
The Campus Community is increasingly diverse and inclusive - in London it now includes 29% women - that’s a 9% increase in just one year. There’s more to be done but, with Women @ Campus providing networking and inspirational talks, and 110 graduates of baby-friendly startup school
Campus for Mums
, we hope to inspire even more women to become entrepreneurs.
Our
education programmes
, including mentoring from Google staff, are a key part of the Campus offering. In 2014, we provided over 1,100 hours of mentoring; enabling our startups to get one-to-one advice on anything from marketing to software development, and training on Google products like Analytics.
Campus London is part of a growing global network of startup communities.
Campus Tel Aviv
launched in 2012, and in coming months, we’re launching four more, with Campus Seoul opening in a few weeks and Madrid, Sao Paulo and Warsaw coming later this year.
The opportunities for startups in our network are not limited to Campus buildings. As part of our wider
Google for Entrepreneurs
network, founders and entrepreneurs are able to tap into a broad range of programs and networks. Our Campus Exchange program brings together six startups from around the world for an intensive week of mentoring and networking.
As we launch new Campus sites, we want to connect the dots and empower founders in these locations to inspire each other and grow - locally, and globally.
Here’s to year four!
Posted by Sarah Drinkwater, Head of Campus London
Bringing a fresh digital vision from “New Europe” to Brussels
Monday, December 8, 2014
While Old Europe ponders its approach to the digital future, New Europe is rushing ahead to embrace the web as a motor for growth and prosperity. This past autumn, together with Financial Times, International Visegrad Fund and Res Publica, we announced the
New Europe 100 list
of innovators from Central and Eastern Europe.This past week, many of
these entrepreneurs came to Brussels
to present their ideas to the European Parliament
The event featured real-life success stories :
The European Parliament New Europe 100 event
Kamila Sidor
, CEO, Geek Girl Carrots from Poland who runs a successful social innovation movement to encourage more women into ICT careers.
Michaela Jacova
, Investment Manager, Neulogy VC from Slovakia, who supports aspiring talented entrepreneurs by awarding grants and matching with VC investors.
Paul-Andre Baran
, Director, Biblionet from Romania, who helps provides free access to computers and the internet through public libraries.
Marcin Beme
, CEO, Audioteka.pl from Poland, who founded a successful mobile platform offering digital audiobooks in Poland, Czech Republic, Hunagry , Spain, FInland, Sweden, Russia, Germany, France and Romania.
Gergana Passy
, Digital Champion of Bulgaria, who advocates for a free access to the internet, e-skills and digital transformation across the society.
MEP Boni and Google's Vint Cerf
MEP
Michal Boni
, former minister for digitization in Poland, hosted the debate, which featured a keynote address from Vint Cerf, Google’s Chief Internet Evangelist. Policymakers from around New Europe attended, including MEP
Janusz Lewandowski
, former Polish EU Commissioner; MEP
Antanas Guoga
from Lithuania, and Prof.
Ziga Turk
of University of Ljubljana and Former Minister for Growth in Slovenia.
All listened to the entrepreneurs offering important lessons on technology-driven innovation. Apart from sharing personal passion for ICT-driven innovation, the New Europe called on the politicians to create a positive environment for innovation. Their proposed ingredients include accepting business failures, attracting more women in ICT careers, increasing access to the Internet across the society, and simplifying rules for trading across the borders. Together, these measures represent a positive recipe for creating a true European digital single market.
Posted by Sylwia Giepmans-Stepien Public Policy and Government Relations Senior Analyst, Brussels
Helping Europe's youth find work
Monday, June 23, 2014
All across Europe, far too many young people struggle to find a job and starting their careers. That is why we are joining a coalition of businesses and governments called the
Alliance for Youth
, which will support European youth to gain new skills and work experience.
At an event today in Lisbon attended by European Commission President Jose-Manuel Barroso and Portuguese Prime Minister Passos Coelho, we committed to a range of initiatives to increase access to digital skills training and education in science, technology, engineering and maths. We're also extending our support for entrepreneurs in Europe.
At Google, we’ve taken on nearly 3500 new employees in Europe over the last three years - net growth of 60% since 2011. Of those 3500, nearly 650 are newly-minted graduates of European universities. They work in a wide range of technical and non-technical roles based in our offices across Europe. More jobs are available. We still have entry level positions open in engineering, advertising support, and product management.
Another priority is helping university students develop professional skills via
internships
. This summer alone, we’ll play host to more than 600 technical and non-technical interns in Europe. We have strong partnerships with universities and organizations.
Across Europe, we are working with partners to help meet some of the specific challenges facing young people. In Spain, where youth unemployment has reached an alarming 57%, we launched
Activate
, a platform to train the young generation in digital skills. Through a suite of offline and massive open online courses (MOOCs) on digital marketing, data analytics, cloud computing, e-commerce, we hope to reach more than 100,000 Europeans by early next year.
Our
RISE
(Roots in Science & Engineering) and
CS4HS
(Computer Science for High School) programs target younger high students. These programs nurture coding skills, use robotics to teach engineering and maths and help teachers with STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) education tools. Through our partnerships with education organizations, we’ll reach 500,000 students and teachers in 20 European countries, up from 100,000 in 2013.
Finally, Google continues to supports entrepreneurship in Europe. We plan to reach thousands of entrepreneurs through
Google for Entrepreneurs
, including
Startup Weekend
,
Startup Grind
or publicly available online learning resources tailored to early-stage entrepreneurs. We also support a growing number of startup hubs and co-working spaces: in London (
Campus London
), Berlin (
The Factory
) and Paris (
Numa
), and a recently announced Campus in Warsaw.
We're delighted to contribute to the new Alliance for Youth. All of us need to support young Europeans to develop the skills and experience allowing them to find meaningful careers in the 21st century economy.
Posted by Matt Brittin, President, Business and Operations, Northern and Central Europe
Campus for entrepreneurs opens in Warsaw
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Campus is coming to Warsaw! Across Poland and Central Eastern Europe, innovators and entrepreneurs are building exciting new businesses, making the Polish capital a natural choice to launch our next Campus. We currently operate Campuses in
London
and
Tel Aviv
.
Campuses are Google's spaces for entrepreneurs to learn, connect, and build companies that will change the world. In them, entrepreneurs get unparalleled access to mentorship and training from their local startup community, experienced entrepreneurs, and Google teams. Campus Warsaw will join the
Google for Entrepreneurs
network. Appropriately, the announcement came on the 25th anniversary of Poland's first partially free democratic elections, illustrated in this
Google Cultural Institute exhibition
, which led to the collapse of the Iron Curtain.
Our Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt met with
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk
for today's inauguration. “Google started as a startup in garage, so supporting startups is part of our DNA," Eric said. "Our hope is that Campus Warsaw will supercharge tech entrepreneurs, strengthen the startup ecosystem and encourage even more innovation in Poland.”
The new Campus represents only part of our ongoing investment throughout the region. In Krakow, we have opened the
Google for Entrepreneurs Krakow
program. Along with Warsaw University, we have launched the
Digital Economy Lab
, with the goal of spreading knowledge about the crucial role digital technology plays in powering the economy and about what policies are required to generate maximum digital acceleration. Along with the Visegrad Fund, ResPublica and the Financial Times, we have started New Europe Challengers campaign to identify the next generation of innovators.
We’ll have more news about the details of Campus Warsaw soon, and look forward to filling it with startups in 2015!
Posted by Eze Vidra, Head of Google for Entrepreneurs Europe
Campus London powers UK tech boom
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
It’s been 20 short months since
Campus London
opened its doors to East London’s entrepreneur community, time enough to report some initial results, and time enough to realize that our biggest expectations have been surpassed. In a new report released yesterday, we reported that Campus has more than 22,000 members, hailing from more than 60 countries. Campus has hosted over 1,100 events for more than 70,000 visitors in 2013, including 1,000 mentoring sessions, in which Google employees volunteer their time to advise early-stage companies, through the
Google office hours programme
.
Full details of the survey can be found at
www.campuslondon.com/research
. Highlights include:
Campus is creating job
s: We estimate that at least 576 jobs have been created within the Campus community.
Campus startups are raising serious funding
: Campus members have raised at least £34m in the 12 months to October 2013.
Campus is promoting gender equality
: Campus is helping to address the gender imbalance in the tech startup industry. The presence of women at Campus continues to grow, now at 22% of residents and 20% of the overall member base - compared to the 9% industry average. Campus for Mums
and
Women at Campus
are moving the needle.
Campus continues to attract new entrepreneurs:
Campus is increasingly popular as a place to interact with the local startup community. 78% of survey respondents have been working at Campus for less than 6 months. Campus membership has grown almost 300% since January 2013 (8,000 to 22,500).
Campus members are upbeat:
The outlook of startups at Campus remains very positive with 84% reporting a positive outlook.
We're proud of the role Campus is playing in building this ecosystem, and eager to continue to grow London as one of the world's most exciting technology centres.
Posted by Eze Vidra, Head of Campus London and Google For Entrepreneurs Europe.
Launching a “human” start-up center in France
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
It rivaled the famed Parisian catwalk shows for glitz and glamor. More than 8,000 people recently crowded into and outside of a new building on Rue du Caire near the Paris Stock Exchange - not to celebrate fashion, but to to launch a 1,500 square meter large startup-incubator called NUMA.
NUMA is short for “numérique” (French for “digital”) and “humain” (French for human). We partnered to create this exciting new facility with telephone operator Orange, the Paris city government and the Ile de France regional authorities. Beyond our financial support, we will organise workshops and other learning opportunities for web entrepreneurs and traditional companies that want to go digital.
Minister Fleur Pellerin
The new center is our latest attempt to help jumpstart the web economy. Our
Campus London,
which, in its first year alone, has hosted more than
860 events
, offering more than 60,000 entrepreneurs mentorship, technical advice and training. Another
Campus opened last year in Tel Aviv
and we’re rolling out across the region our
Google for Entrepreneurs
.
In Paris, the new NUMA aims to attract up to 45,000 visitors and 600 tech start-ups each year. It will serve as a base for consolidating existing start-up projects – Le Camping and La Cantine.
At Numa’s launch party, the crowd demonstrated an optimism in sharp contrast with the ongoing stagnation and pessimism about France’s economy. “Together we open NUMA, and declare our ambition to fly the flag of French innovation even higher,” the organizers said on the
NUMA website
, predicting raft of investment and new jobs. Minister of Digital Economy, Fleur Pellerin, saluted this ambition.
The crowd was so numerous that many had to wait outside for an opportunity to enter and see the new facilities. No matter. Instead of fretting, the eager entrepreneurs turned the surrounding streets into a big party, complete with good drink, food and talk of exciting digital ventures.
Posted by Elisabeth Bargès, Public Policy Manager Innovation, Google France
Celebrating start-ups at Campus Party London
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Last week, I joined more than 10,000 “Campuseros” at
Campus Party London
- a huge gathering of coders, tech entrepreneurs, press and politicians, all focused on the Internet as an engine of economic growth for Europe. The event felt more like a music festival than a traditional conference, and featured an
indoor campsite
and countless, workshops, hackathons and demonstrations - all dedicated to showing what the digital sector can deliver for Europe’s future.
European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes
used the occasion
to give an inspiring speech about the need for Europe to embrace digital innovation. Her “Startup Europe Leaders Club” launched the
Startup Manifesto
.
Drafted by European entrepreneurs including Joanna Shields, CEO of TechCity UK, Daniel Ek, founder of Spotify and Niklas Zennström, founder of Atomico and Skype, the manifesto is an excellent proposal to tackle the issues that inhibit entrepreneurship and innovation in Europe. We hope it will be a useful guide for the 28 EU leaders who’ll meet to discuss digital opportunities in October at the European Council.
Google was glad to play its part in the event too. My Google colleagues Vint Cerf, one of the founding fathers of the internet, and Chris DiBona, Google’s open source guru, spoke about the future of the Internet and Open Source.
I gave a talk about the principles of innovation at Google and how we implement them in our own
Campus London
, which, in its first year alone, has hosted
more than 860 events
, offering more than 60,000 entrepreneurs
mentorship, technical advice and training
. We’re replicating these kinds of initiatives across Europe and around the world via our
Google for Entrepreneurs
programme too.
Throughout the event, noise and energy levels were high - in part because of performances from the likes of
Beardyman
- but also because Europe’s digital sector is gaining momentum. Since the start of the crisis in 2008, the number of European start-up accelerators and incubators has grown by nearly 400%, putting the continent more or less on an even footing with the US in terms of startup programs per capita. And more broadly, the digital economy already contributes up to 8 percent of GDP in some EU economies, and 4% of EU GDP and is predicted to grow seven times faster than the rest of the economy. This is an accomplishment to cherish - and nurture!
Posted by Eze Vidra, Head of Campus London
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