Europe Blog
Our views on the Internet and society
Supporting Europe Code Week
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
The European Commission estimates that more than 900,000 high tech jobs will go unfilled in 2020. While digital competency is one of the most important prerequisites for getting a job, too few students are studying computing. We want to help fill this gap. In order to encourage more school age students to learn about computing, we’re participating in the European Commission initiative,
Europe Code Week
, which takes place Oct 11-17.
We’re providing small grants to organizations who are running events in nearly a dozen countries, from Spain to Slovenia. In Sevilla,
Programamos
is going to teach 100 students to code. In Athens, we’re supporting coding workshops for underprivileged girls with
Greek Geekettes
. Other innovative projects range from
Atelier-Gouter du Code
, which is bringing coding workshops to students in underprivileged areas of Marseilles, France, to
Python for Everyone
through the University of Ljubljana.
An important priority in this year’s event is encouraging girls to explore computer science. We are coordinating Hangouts on Air interviews, hosting female Google engineers from across the continent to show children, especially girls, role models in the tech field. Tune in to
+Europe Code Week’s Google+ Page
.
Click on
Code Week’s events page
to see all the different opportunities to participate in this celebration of computer science.
Posted by Marielena Ivory, Pre-university Education Specialist, Europe
Join the European Health Parliament
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Want to help reinvent health care? Join us in a new European Health Parliament. Together with
Janssen
pharmaceutical company,
the European Voice
, and the
College of Europe
e, we will bring together 80 young professionals in Brussels between November 2014 and June 2015 to look at the opportunities offered by the new digital world to improve medical care and policy. Apply now at
http://www.healthparliament.eu/
,
The Internet promises to bring exciting change to medicine and fitness. At Google, for example, we’re working on cutting edge projects such as a “smart” contact glass, complete with a minaturized wireless chip connected to the Internet, to measure glucose levels for diabetics. While such innovations offer the tantalizing prospect of improving care and building longer, healthier lives, they often also raise difficult questions about privacy and other public policy matters.
Over the course of the next six months, members of the European Health Parliament will meet in Brussels with politicians, experts and opinion leaders. At the end of the process, they will co-author a prestigious publication on the future of healthcare in the Internet era.
Eligibility
AGE: below 35 (Born after 1/1/1979)
EDUCATION: University graduate
AVAILABILITY: Participation will be required in four plenary sessions and several committee meetings in Brussels. Unfortunately, transportation costs will not be reimbursed.
WORKING LANGUAGE: Fluent spoken and written English.
ATTITUDE: Enthusiastic, creative, pro-active, curious and eager to improve the face of future healthcare;
No prior expertise in healthcare is required.
Application Process
The application deadline is October 20, 2014. A jury of professionals from the College of Europe, Janssen, European Voice and Google will choose the successful "parliamentarians."
Before applying, please be sure that you can attend the plenary sessions:
November 21, 2014 (Opening Session)
February 27, 2015
April 5, 2015
June 17, 2015 (Closing Session)
Apply. You can change the face of European health care.
Posted by Catherine Williams, Public Policy analyst, Brussels
Right to be Forgotten Advisory Council in Berlin and London
Monday, October 6, 2014
Over the last two weeks,
the Advisory Council to Google on the Right to be Forgotten
held public meetings in Paris and Warsaw, where they heard from national experts and members of the public. The next two public meetings take place on 14th October in Berlin and on 16th October in London.
A limited number of seats are available for members of the public at each Council meeting, and online registration is now open. Registration will remain open until the day before the event. There is no charge to attend.
Berlin:
register here
to attend the public meeting in Berlin.
Members of the press can register here
.
London:
register here
to attend the public meeting in London.
Members of the press can register here
.
At each meeting, the Council will listen to statements from invited experts, ask questions of the experts and discuss matters of law, technology, and ethics. The public portion of each Advisory Council meeting will last around four hours, with a short intermission. The whole meeting will also be live-streamed on the
Advisory Council’s website
.
During the event, members of the audience can submit questions to the Council and invited experts. The Council also invites members of the public to share their thoughts on the Right to be Forgotten via the form at
google.com/advisorycouncil
- all contributions will be read and discussed. Individuals or organizations with subject matter expertise can submit attachments such as research papers at
google.com/advisorycouncil/comments
on an ongoing basis.
After Berlin and London, the Council will make one final stop in Brussels (4th November), before starting work on its report, which will be published in early 2015. Registration for the Brussels meeting will start approximately ten days beforehand, and we’ll post details on this blog and on the Advisory Council website in due course.
We look forward to seeing you at one of the meetings.
Posted by Betsy Masiello, Google Secretariat to the Advisory Council
Google Campus is coming to Spain!
Monday, October 6, 2014
Google began as a startup in garage, and supporting startups remains a very important part of our DNA. We continually see that when people are empowered to dream big and are empowered to take action, that entrepreneurs turn those ideas into growing companies, creating a powerful startup community, solving big problems, and supporting a thriving economy.
So today we're thrilled to announce Campus Madrid, a new home for innovation in Spain.
Campuses
are Google's spaces for entrepreneurs to learn, connect, and build companies that will change the world. At Campus, entrepreneurs get unparalleled access to mentorship and trainings led by their local startup community, experienced entrepreneurs, and teams from Google.
Two years ago we opened our first Campuses,
Campus London
and
Campus Tel Aviv
. We've seen incredible momentum in these two spaces. In 2013, startups at Campus London raised more 34M GBP, and created more than 570 jobs. We recently announced new Campus locations coming to Warsaw, Poland, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Seoul, South Korea. Entrepreneurs at Campus Madrid will benefit from this global network of Campuses, including our Campus Exchange program, giving entrepreneurs access to other workspaces around the world.
Google Campus London
Google Campus Tel Aviv
In addition to global opportunities, we will run many new programs in our Madrid location, including
Campus for Moms
,
CampusEDU
and Office Hours with Googler mentors.
We decided to open a Campus in Madrid because of the thriving entrepreneurial spirit in Spain.
We have seen the booming entrepreneurial community in Spain and are excited to join the local community in making it even stronger. Our hope is that Campus Madrid will supercharge tech entrepreneurs, strengthen the startup ecosystem and encourage even more innovation in Spain, Europe, and beyond.
We look forward to opening our doors next year and filling Campus Madrid with startups!
Posted by Mary Grove, Director of Google for Entrepreneurs
Street View reaches new heights
Friday, October 3, 2014
Street View cars, Trekkers and trikes are always striving to unveil new informative and entertaining views of the world, making
Google Maps
more useful and comprehensive. In recent weeks, we have launched two exciting European projects — one in Switzerland, the other in Russia — which literally take the images to a new velocity and a new height!
StreetView Trekker climbs the Swiss Alps
Together with the
Swiss Alpine Club
(SAC) and the Swiss Tourism Board
(MySwitzerland.com)
, we launched a contest called “Queen of the Alps.” High in the Swiss Alps, far from any road or other buildings, are picturesque huts used to spend a night by farmers and vacationers.
It often takes a full day hike to reach these out of the way huts. We ran online vote to find the favorite Swiss hut, promising to film the choice for Street View. The Swiss Alpine Club’s
Lauteraarhütte-SAC
in the canton of Berne (region “Grimselgebiet”) won. It took our Trekkers a five hour hike up the Grimsels Hospiz to capture this exciting imagery.
The interior of the winning alpine hut
In Russia, the site of our Street View shoot was much more accessible but just as exciting - the Winter Olympic venues in Sochi. Stroll around the Fischt stadium which hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. Walk on the Ice Palace "Iceberg" and visit the Olympic Village, where your favorite team stayed.
In particular, take a look at the new Formula 1 track in Sochi. It is located in the city’s Olympic Park and is the only Formula 1 track in Russia. From October 10-12, Russia will host its first World Championship race.
The new Sochi Formula 1 Track on StreetView
Before the event, we thought it would be cool for racing fans to test out the new track. The new Street View imagery allows anyone, anywhere to preview the route. Take a spin.
Posted by Marta Nowak-Przygodzka, Street View team
Seizing the digital opportunity in France
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
All too often, fast-moving, disruptive digital innovation is presented as the enemy of Europe’s enviable social system. The reality, according to a
new study
published this week in Paris by consultants Roland Berger, is that digital companies not only boost economic growth - they also increase worker satisfaction.
Launching the new Roland Berger Internet report
Berger studied 505 companies, all with more than 50 employees, classifying them in four categories by how much they use the Internet. Its study focused not on sexy Internet startups, but on traditional industries such as chemistry, energy or manufacturing. The conclusion was striking: new digital technologies are just as important in these traditional sectors as for high tech startups. The most “digital” grow six times faster than the “least digital”.
Given this finding, it is unsurprising that French companies sense the opportunity: some 57% interviewed put digital transformation as one of their medium term strategic priorities. Unfortunately, actions do not follow these intentions. Only 36% of French companies have a formal digital strategy and French corporate Internet engagement lags far behind French consumer use. While nearly six in 10 French people shopped online in 2013, only one French company in 10 sold online.
If more French companies embarked on the digital journey, Berger argues they would not only improve their performance - they also would please workers. Employees of the most digitally mature companies feel at least 50 percent more involved and happier in their professional life than those of the least matures ones. In a country famed for its quality of life, this is indeed an impressive finding!
Posted by Elisabeth Bargès, Senior Manager, Public Policy and Government Affairs, France
Encouraging Online Video Content in Israel
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Many countries, particularly small ones, face a similar dilemma - how to encourage local production in their own languages. Governments might suggest that the best response is regulation, to artificially require local language video content production. We believe this is neither justified nor effective.
The Internet encourages local content creation. In Israel, the creators of
Tu-Ti-Tu
, an Israeli animation studio specializing in shows for toddlers, tried to make it on TV for years without much success. Today, Tu-Ti-Tu is among the 100 most viewed channels globally on YouTube, and one of the 10 leading channels for family entertainment.
All told, YouTube captures more than a billion views each day. For content creators in a small country like Israel, the internet connects them to a global audience, overcoming physical barriers.
Here, we’ve partnered with the Israeli Film and TV Producers Association and with the Ministry of Economy to run
Made for Web
- a celebration of Israeli content online.
It’s a competition for online video content. Winners are rewarded with cash prizes and a trip to the YouTube Space in London. Last year, there were more than 150 innovative, funny and serious submissions, ranging from travel advice by a three year old child, to an action series for gamers. Winners took a
visit
to the YouTube
space
in London, which they later described as “heaven for video creators.”
This year, we’re going to be running a
workshop
on October 29 in Tel Aviv, where Israeli creators can meet international and local speakers and share best practices.
Matthew Clarke
of Maker Studio and Jake Roper from
Vsauce
will be there. Most important, Made for Web II is now open for submissions.
Apply
by October 31st - and create some more great Hebrew language video.
Posted by Noa Elefant Loffler, Policy and Government Relations Senior Manager, Israel
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