Table of Contents
Introduction
It is the 21st century, and now, the fraction of women in the IT sector is meagre. With all the “weakness” around the world about women’s rights and status in the workplace, women hold only 26% of the computing jobs. Further, codes written by women are accepted 78.6% of the time (4% more than that of men), only when the gender of the programmer is undisclosed.
That’s downright unfair, right? However, in an endeavour by Google, women coding enthusiasts can get an opportunity to showcase their coding skills on the global stage.
We’re talking about the Google Code Jam to I/O for Women – an innovative platform that aims to bring together women from around the world in a challenging coding competition.
So, if you’re passionate about coding and have all it takes to compete against the world, then the Google Code Jam to I/O for Women is your best call!
Google Code Jam to I/O for Women: What is it all About?
Code Jam to I/O for Women is a unique effort by Google as part of its commitment to increase representation and contribute towards building a diverse community in the online coding arena.
Google I/O is the largest developer conference at Google – a global platform with an opportunity to interact with eminent developers, engage in insightful discussions, get hands-on training from Google experts and get the first glimpse of Google’s latest developer products.
If this sounds exciting to you, then Google Code Jam to I/O for Women is your ticket to the prestigious Google I/O conference. Google Code Jam to I/O for Women is an online coding competition for women professionals and students where participants have to solve challenging algorithmic problems within a stipulated time. The top contestants will get a stipend and a chance to participate in the Google I/O.
Structure of the competition
The exam pattern of the contest is pretty straightforward – it is a single-round online competition where contestants get 2.5 hours to write codes and solve tough algorithmic problems. Scores are given accordingly, and the top 150 participants on the scoreboard get a stipend and a ticket to participate in the coveted Google I/O.
Eligibility Criteria
Before you register for the Google Code Jam to I/O for Women, make sure that you fulfil the eligibility criteria as laid down by Google.
Here are the details:
- Age: Contestants must be at least 18 years old (or the age of majority in the country of their residence, whichever is greater) at the time of registration for the Google Code Jam to I/O for Women. Following the age criterion is strictly mandatory to be able to register and be eligible to win a prize, which includes a VIP ticket to the Google I/O and a stipend.
- Participation in the Google Code Jam to I/O for Women is barred for residents in North Korea, Iran, Crimea, Quebec (Canada) or anywhere where the contest is prohibited by law.
- Individuals who are current employees, contractors, interns, officers or directors of Alphabet, Google or their affiliates are disqualified from participating.
- Participants must have a steady internet connection and a valid Google account.
How to Register for Google Code Jam to I/O for Women?
If you’re wondering how to register for the Google Code Jam to I/O for Women, then we’ve got you covered.
Here’s a detailed guide on how to register for the online event:
- Interested candidates have to first create a contest profile at g.co/codingcompetitions.
- Merely creating a contest profile does not amount to registering; contestants have to separately register for the contest they wish to participate in. However, only one valid contest profile is required to register for Google Code Jam to I/O for Women or any other Google contest.
- Check the registration time on the individual contest website.
- While registering, all information given by the contestants must be complete, accurate, and in English.
Preparation Tips
No matter the level of difficulty of the coding contest, the best way to approach it is to have a solid preparation strategy. Further, when it’s a globally renowned event like the Google Code Jam to I/O for Women, where the best programmers are pitted against each other, there is no alternative to diligent preparation.
So, here is a compilation of the best preparation tips for the next Google Code Jam to I/O for Women:
- Brush up your knowledge of computer science topics
Preparing for a coding contest and not knowing about hardcore computer science topics is absurd. Hence, participating in the Google Code Jam to I/O for Women means that you have to revise your basics that include, but are not limited to topics such as:
- I/O fundamentals of your programming language
- Common data structures such as priority queues, hash tables and binary search trees
- Built-in data structures (arrays and sets) and syntax of your programming language
- Manipulating lists and strings
- Defining and invoking functions
- Using control structures
- Algorithms such as dynamic programming, binary search, greedy algorithms, Dijkstra’s algorithm, breadth and depth first search
- Polish up mathematical concepts
Preparing for the Google Code Jam to I/O for Women might be a good time to revisit your secondary school books and revise mathematical topics such as basic number theory, permutations and combinations and probability.
- Programming language prerequisites
Having a thorough knowledge of programming languages is one of the primary prerequisites of the Google Code Jam to I/O for Women.
The following programming languages are supported on the platform, and it is recommended that participants know at least one of them:
- C#
- C++
- C
- Dart
- Bash
- D
- Go
- Clojure
- Groovy
- JavaScript
- Java
- F#
- Kotlin
- Lua
- Lisp
- Haskell
- OCaml
- Julia
- Objective-C
- Octave
- R
- Rust
- Ruby
- PHP
- Perl
- Python 2
- Python 3
- Visual Basic
- TypeScript
- Pascal
- PyPy 2
- Swift
- Scala
Previously Asked Questions
Once you’re done with revising your fundamentals, you can solve previously asked questions. It will not only boost your confidence ahead of the D-day but will also help you prepare for the contest better.
Here are some sample problems from the past editions:
Code Jam to I/O for Women 2020 – In the problem “Interleaved Output: Part 1”, it was said that a developer’s conference was to be held on a moon of Jupiter with events, named IO, Io, iO and io. Specially programmed computers were to print the events’ name on a digital display, one character at a time.
However, all computers printed the same display. The participants had to find out the maximum possible number of times the event IO had been advertised.
Code Jam to I/O for Women 2019 – The “Grid Escape” problem of 2019 was about an escape adventure designed in a rectangular grid of rooms with R rows and C columns. Each room has four doors, with those on the border of the grid leading outside and the others leading to the other rooms.
R × C players play the adventure game and each can pass through a door that they opened themselves until they escape to the outside. The Jam contestants had to choose the door that can be opened in each room such that only an exact number of players are able to escape.
Code Jam to I/O for Women 2018 – A one-of-a-kind problem known as the “Burger Optimisation” focused on an Android bug that caused the cheese to be placed directly on the lower bun (instead of the patty) in the burger emoji.
A burger model was given to determine each ingredient’s distance-to-bun value each ingredient which is basically the least number of other ingredients between that ingredient and a bun. Contestants were asked to come up with a minimum possible error value for ordering the burger ingredients.
Code Jam to I/O for Women 2017 – The “Word Search” problem-focused on developing a word search grid that’s I/O themed. Every cell in the grid was to contain one of the three characters, I, O, or /. Certain specifications for the grid were given and the contestants had to design a grid that met those criteria.
If you’re looking for an online platform that can help you prepare for the Google Code Jam to I/O for Women problems, then head to the free and useful courses on Coding Ninjas and CodeStudio.
Frequently Asked Questions
Women students and professionals with an aptitude for coding and aged above 18 years are eligible to participate.
There is no single winner of the contest. The top 150 contestants on the scoreboard win a stipend and ticket to the Google I/O after a 2.5 hours single-round coding competition.
You can practice problems from previous editions of the contest and submit your solutions in practice mode. The Archive Page of Google Code Jam to I/O has all the previously asked questions.
The questions asked on the Google Code Jam to I/O have multiple difficulty layers.
Yes, the Google Code Jam to I/O is a single-round online contest.
The single round of the Google Code Jam to I/O runs for 2.5 hours (150 minutes).
You can solve the problems in whichever order you like. Make sure you read the problems carefully and then go on to solve them in the order you find convenient.
No, contestants are free to use any operating system of their choice to solve the problems. Regarding browsers, any modern and latest version of a browser should work fine.
If you have a positive score and are among the top 150 of the highest-ranking contestants, then you will be eligible for the stipend. However, you need to register for Google I/O prior to that. Eligible candidates will be notified on how to register for Google I/O via email.
Key Takeaways
If it’s your dream to be a part of the esteemed Google I/O, then this is your best bet! Specially designed for women coding experts, Google Code Jam to I/O sets the stage for contestants to showcase their coding abilities.
Before you sign-up for Code Jam to I/O, check all the eligibility criteria and ensure that you give accurate and complete information while registering. Once your contest profile is set up, practice as many problems as you can from the past seasons of the Code Jam, and yes, do a thorough revision of programming languages, hardcore computer science topics and mathematics!
So, do you think you can ace it and make it to the top 150 lucky contestants?
